Crossing Between Reality
by Rabid Pink Bunny
Summary: (7th Chapter Up) The case about a PK that not only terminates the character in "The World", but harms the player in the real world, has been going underway. But once Tsukasa decides to join in the fiasco, things completely flop over for the worse...
1. Return to The World!

Crossing Between Reality  
CHAPTER 1  
  
Author Note: Okay, if you haven't seen up to the last episode, then you might be a little confused. Lemme clear a few things up: (Beware of the Spoilers)  
  
One - Sorry fangirls, but... Tsukasa, in reality, is a girl...seriously. Yes, I was heartbroken too ("Noo! Noo! And I thought there was finnaly a cute guy to add to my list!!"), but... Yeah, you'll have to watch for yourself to see what I mean. Long story. So, it's going to be where Tsuky decides that ...er... her character in "The World" is just going to be a guy character... so basically is a girl playing as a guy character. Oy, I know, but it makes it easier for me.  
Two - Remember when Mimiru invited Tsukasa to go to Shimokita once he was able to log out? Of course ya do!! Well, they actually go to their happy trip in this story! Whoo!!  
Three - Sorry if there's OOCness. I'm really bad with keeping in character, but I'm trying... honest ;_;  
Four - Places in "The World" will kinda be made up. I don't feel like digging up my episodes, try to remember every darn place they mention, and...bother to remember. And, being just a humble girl in Texas, I don't know Japan's cities and places...at ALL. So, again, I have to strain my imaginary sences and make up places in Japan! Whoohoo!!   
'Tis all. Continue-ness...  
  
---------------------------  
  
It was sort of wierd, finnaly being back home. I was stuck in "The World" for so long, comming back to reality felt odd. But even after I was able to log out, I refused to go back for the longest time. Despite how badly I wanted to see Mimiru, Subaru, even everyone else again, going back to "The World" was not on my 'to-do' list.  
  
I was sitting next to my dad, well, my adoptive father I should say, who is actually Bear in the game. He was playing it, and among the computer monitor was a little screen that enabled me to see what he was doing from first-person view. I coulden't hear what was going on thought, since the players have headphone-like objects.   
  
Dad was talking to Mimiru, who seemed extremely annoyed at something. When Mimiru finished up what she was more than likely ranting at, a smile appeared on dad's face.   
  
"So, you want to see Tsukasa again?" He asked, probably repeating what Mimiru was talking about. "Well, even so, she still refuses to come back."  
  
'That's right!' I thought, giving a small frown. 'I'm not going to risk getting stuck in there again!'   
  
Mimiru looked as if she were yelling at the top of her lungs.   
  
"I'll see what I can do about it." Dad calmly said. He logged off and took off the headgear. I gave the impression that I had no idea what was going on and brushed my hand through my hair.   
  
"I'm not going back." I demanded, forgetting about my lost look.  
  
"Don't you want to see Mimiru again?" He asked. "And what about Subaru?"  
  
I gave out a long, exaggerated sigh. "Of course I do... but what if I get stuck in there again? I don't want to spend another year like I did last time."  
  
Dad placed his hand on my head. "You won't, I promise. Even in the unlikely chance you do get stuck, I can just to a reset right here."  
  
He has a point...  
  
We both sat in silence, waiting for a reply.   
  
Well, knowing Mimiu, she'll never stop bugging dad about it untill I do return to "The World'; If I make her wait any longer, she'll probably explode or kick me in the head once I did return. I had two choices...I hate choices. So, whatever comes out of my mouth first will decide it all.  
  
"I'm going back!" I spat.  
  
It took me a second to realize what I just said, and when I did, I started to mentally strangle myself.  
  
"Then it's decided."Dad replied. "She's waiting in the Doragen Feild. You better hurry."  
  
"Well, she's not that bad at waiting." I mumbled, remembering the time she waited for who knows how long for me. Mimiru would probably do it again if she had to. It was even worth mentioning at the BBS.  
  
Well, lets do this. I wasn't to hestitant to put on the headgear and log on, but I did it. I just wanted to get over this paranoia already. Once the computer logged on, and suddenly all too familiar fields spawned. There was hardly anything around, except a long path from the Chaos Gate behind me and a small cliff about a mile away. I was still the same old me from last time I came. I tapped my staff on the ground as if it were brand new. Nothing had changed.  
  
"Tsukasa! It's about time!" Mimiru shouted from a distance. She quickly ran up to me, dragging her sword behind her. "Seriously now, five in a half months was long enough!"  
  
"It's been that long?" I asked.  
  
Mimiru gave me one of her looks. "Of course I've been keeping track. Only because I haven't forgotten about our promise."  
  
Promise? Getting the Mimiru mad is the last thing I'd want to do, so playing along can't hurt.  
  
"Um, yeah...I haven't forgotten." I lied.  
  
"That's great!" Mimiru cheered. "So when do you think we can go?"  
  
I made an obvious nervous look, but I really didn't want that sword of hers to meet my face...  
  
I gave a nervous laugh. "Uh...go where?"  
  
"Tsukasa!" She roared. "So you DID forget! We were supposed to go to Shimokita, remember?"  
  
I clentched my staff in confusion, lost in thought for a moment. Then it suddenly hit me; When I was stuck here in "The World", Mimiru asked me if I could go to Shimokita once I was able to log out.   
  
"Sorry." I apologized. "Must've slipped my mind."  
  
"How about we go to the cliffs right there?" Mimiru requested. "Like old times."  
  
The same cliffs that me and Mimiru sat at a lot in the past.   
  
"Allright...sure." I replied.   
  
We took our times making it, but eventually we got there. From up here, there was a better view of the seemingly never ending fields. Once in a while a person or two would log in or log out using the nearby Chaos Gate.   
  
Mimiru leaned against her sword and gazed into the fields. "You've changed, Tsukasa... Funny how so much time goes by so quickly, yet things can be so different by then..."  
  
"I've changed...? How...How so?" I asked.  
  
"Well, you haven't ran away yet." Mimiru laughed. "And the tone of your eyes..." She looked into my eyes with a smile. "They no longer have that depressed tone like they used to."  
  
I gave off a confused look again. "You...can be so strange sometimes."  
  
Mimiru giggled and hoisted her sword over her shoulder. "Say...Subaru's been waiting for you to return. Should I give her a call and tell her to come here?"  
  
I nodded. "Yeah."  
  
Mimiru stood still for a moment. "E-mail sent!" She said once she finished. "She'll probably come at any moment, if she's logged on."  
  
Subaru... I haven't seen her since when I first was able to log out. After that, we haven't been in contact since. There's no need, she said, that we'll meet up again in "The World". The thing, is, we never did. I coulden't tell her that I never wanted to come back. And, well...here I am.   
  
"Yo! Subaru!" Mimiru shouted, distracting me from floating off into space any longer. Sure enough it was Subaru, who was running as fast as her gentle feet could carry her from the Chaos Gate. It seems wierd to see characters having to use the Chaos Gates to travel to different servers; Maybe 'cause I'm so used to just doing it myself from anywhere I want.  
  
"T-Tsukasa..." Subaru panted once she arrived. "You've finnaly decided to come back."  
  
I blushed. "I suppose."  
  
Mimiru hopped aside as Subaru jumped at me with wide arms and gave me a huge hug. "I didn't think you'd ever return! All of us have been worried about your well being!"  
  
"We?"  
  
"Who'dya think?" Mimiru butt in. "Me, Subaru...heck, even B.T. and Krim! You've put us through all this suspence! And of course Bear woulden't say much! 'You'll just have to see for yourself' he says! His secretsy just makes me mad sometimes!"  
  
"Speaking of Bear," Subaru started. "I've heard you've been living with him, and he's your guardian now."  
  
"Sure am." I answered.   
  
Mimiru knocked on my head lightly as if she were knocking on a door. "For someone who's been gone for all this time, you sure don't have much to say."  
  
"Well, what do you want me to say?" I asked, unsure. She was right, though, and I know Subaru and her expected at least something worth mentioning to them.  
  
Mimiru threw her arms in the air. "Anything! Just don't go 'I guess' or 'Yeah' over and over!"  
  
"How's the real world been?" Subaru blurted in the middle of Mimiru's rant.  
  
I shrugged, but that probably wasn't enough. "Better than before. Ecspecially since my real father isn't around anymore..."  
  
"You still remember him?" Mimiru asked.  
  
"Well...from what I remember..." I replied.  
  
Subaru gave a smile; A sweet smile I haven't seen in a good, long while. It's no wonder why she's respected by just about everyone in "The World'. Even after the dismantle of the Crimson Knights, Subaru was still given her respected name.   
  
"Mimiru," I called. "I'll meet you in Shimokita today..."  
  
Mimiru's face beamed a smile. "Allright then! Around two to two-thirty would be best..."  
  
I nodded. "Okay. Subaru, you know where to meet up."  
  
"Huh?" Mimiru gasped as Subaru teleported off. "Hold on, Tsukasa! You're not leaving me here all alone!"  
  
Without another word, I teleported off too. I reappeared on another field, much like the Doragen Fields, with more hills and a prettier sky. On the hill I was on stood a lonely tree that resembled a cherry blossom tree, proud and tall as it is beautiful. It's pink flowers settled to the ground underneath it, where Subaru sat. I walked over, setting my staff down and taking our usual place under the cooling shade of the tree. The sky in this area looked as if the sunset far off would never end, and we both sat in silence staring at its glory. That's all we did for a while; Sit, stare, and dare not say a word.  
  
The silence began to get to me, though. Which was wierd, because most of the time I would've rather sat in silence and not be bothered.  
  
"Have you noticed that we never talk much?" I pointed out.  
  
"Yes, but I still enjoy your company." She said. "And I still enjoy being here with you."  
  
Then, there was another time period of complete silence.   
  
"It feels wierd comming back." I said. "I didn't want to come back, but now that I have... It's like this was always my home."  
  
Subaru gave me a weak look. "Nobody belongs here, you know that. You're right where you need to be, and that's why all of us tried our best to get you back there."  
  
'It's just more comforting.' I thought. Saying it aloud probably wasn't a good idea.   
  
Once more it fell dead silent. I stretched out on the soft grass as some more flower petals danced towards the ground. Subaru and I have spend endless hours at this place, and it was still enjoyable comming back every time.  
  
"Why didn't you want to come back, though?" Subaru asked.  
  
I closed my eyes. This will probably sound stupid... "I did want to come back, actually, but... I didn't want anything else to happen. You guys went through heck of a time, all because of me."  
  
"None of us were dragged in against our will." Subaru explained. "We came in because we wanted to. We were searching for the Key of the Twilight because we wanted to help you. Aren't you happier now that you've returned home?"  
  
"Exactly, I didn't want to be unable to log out again."  
  
Subaru let out a small giggle. "You shoulden't worry about the 'ifs', 'ands', and 'buts', Tsukasa."  
  
"Yeah, probably." I sighed.  
  
"So, was there a reason you wanted to meet me here?"  
  
"Not really." I replied. "We never had a reason before, so do we need a reason now?"  
  
Subaru simply smiled and looked towards the vast hills. Then there was even more silence...again. Starting a conversation with her was never really easy, unless I was in some sort of trouble or on an adventure of some kind. Why she is always so quiet is beyond me, but as long as she enjoyed herself, I was happy with it all.  
  
"Tsukasa," Subaru called. "please don't take this in the wrong way, but..." She paused. "I...I really thought I found somebody I loved."  
  
Had I been drinking anything, I probably would've started choking on it. I sat up and confusingly looked at Subaru. "What's that supposed to mean?"  
  
Subaru looked at me with dull eyes. "I cared for you, but I guess it was just dumb love. Please understand this was not ment for you to be sympethetic or offended. I just felt it would take some weight off my shoulders if I explained to you..."  
  
One part of me wanted to say something, but the other half didn't. Nothing would form in my mind to say. I really cared for her too, but now that I know who I really am, it just didn't seem right anymore. Only one phrase could say it all, but was it the right way to say it?  
  
"I still care for you." Immidiately a swung my hand over my mouth. Honestly, I didn't mean to say it. Subaru looked surprised, but after that, she simply smiled. It didn't sound stupid after all.  
  
I grabbed my staff and stood up, brushing some grass off my clothes. "Well, I gotta go. Mimiru's probably logged out already, getting ready for our trip to Shimokita. You know how she gets when I'm late."  
  
Subaru brushed her hair back with her hand, showing no signs of leaving. "Have fun."  
  
I smiled back to her, then teleported off to the same Chaos Gate I came in through.   
  
"Well gee, thanks!" An all-too familliar screech came from behind, freaking me out and causing me to drop my staff.   
  
"You could've at least warned me you were still here, Mimiru."  
  
"You don't need any warnings! I waited for you because I wanted to ask you something." She said. Mimiru gave a smile as if she accomplished something. "Since he won't tell me, what's Bear's job in the real world? I'm getting really tired of his kiddish guessing games, and since you live with him and such."  
  
I gave a smirk. "Not telling." Mimiru knocked me on the head. "Ow! Hey! What was that for?!"  
  
"Well good because -- Woah, wait, you felt that?" She asked.  
  
"...Haven't I always?" I asked back.  
  
"Well, yeah, but I figured..."  
  
"Just because I'm back doesn't mean I've lost my abilities."  
  
"Your guardian too?"  
  
I sighed. "Well, no. It got destroyed in Net Slum, or did you already forget?"  
  
"That's right." Mimiru answered. "Must've forgotten that."  
  
"Typical." I joked. "Well, are we going to get ready for Shimokita or what?"  
  
"That's right, we need to plan a place to meet up." Mimiru remembered. "Any places of reconmendation?"  
  
I shrugged. "Well, I don't really know Shimokita like you do."  
  
"Oy..okay." Mimiru sighed. "How about... The cake shop? It's also near all the stores I like to go to. It's where all the resturaunts and such are, so it shouldn't be that hard to find."  
  
"Perfect." I said.   
  
"And to make it easier, I'll be sitting in the far back corner next to the window."  
  
I turned towards the Chaos Gate. "Now it's time to see if I can do this..." I lifted up my staff and closed my eyes, almost wanting to shout out a prayer that this'll work.   
  
"Be sure to be on time, Tsukasa!" I heard Mimiru shout.  
  
Right then it felt like I woke up from a dream that seemed all too real. I dropped the controller in my hands and took off the headgear as quick as possible, and looked around the room.  
  
I chuckled an extremely stupid laugh out of pure happiness. "I did it... Wow, I don't remember the last time I was able to do this... D-DAD!"  
  
He poked his head through the doorway, carrying a cup of coffee. "You were saying?"  
  
"Oh, hush." I replied. I looked at the clock, which read one-fourty-seven. "Well, I've got to get ready."  
  
"For what?" Dad asked.  
  
"Well, a while back, Mimiru wanted me to go to Shimokita and...well, yeah, she made me agree to go." I explained. "So I have to get ready, or I know she'll be mad at me."  
  
He took a sip of his coffee. "Shimokita, eh? Allright then." He dissapeared into the living room again.  
  
While I was getting ready, I honestly don't know if I had been any more nervous in my life. Meeting Mimiru in "The World" was one thing, but this is the real thing we're talking about here. Wondering how it'll turn out, I quickly got ready for my trip.   
  
Right when I was about to walk out the door, stupid struck me right in the head. "I wonder if she's expecting a guy to meet her there..."  
  
***  
  
I looked up at the sign of the only cake shop I could find. The resturaunt seemed like there was nobody there at all, except a couple and a girl sitting in the back next to the window... Mimiru. I swear, the anxiety inside was trying to kill me or something. Knowing it won't do me any good unless I actually go inside, I adjusted the duffel bag hanging on my shoulder and stepped towards the door.  
  
The bells hanging from the door rung as I stepped in, but nobody really noticed. I advanced to the back of the shop. I stopped as soon as I got right behind Mimiru, but she hadn't noticed me yet.  
  
"Mimiru?" I called.  
  
She jumped in her seat and quickly turned. "Tsuka--" She stopped suddenly and stared at me. "You're a girl?"  
  
"Well, yeah, I suppose so." I sarcasticly remarked. "Expecting a super cute guy?"  
  
Mimiru blushed in embarassment. "Well, uh... That's beside the point! C'mon, sit down!" I followed her orders and sat. "So, what's up?"  
  
"What's up? That's it?"  
  
"Okay, fine. 'How have you been entertaining yourself with other extracurricular activities other than occupying yourself with boredom?' Satisfied?"  
  
"Rather." I said. "Well, to answer your question, just typical everyday things."  
  
Mimiru rolled her eyes. "So, do you want to stay here for a little longer or start what we came here for?"  
  
"Lets stay for a while.." I requested. "It took me a while to find this place, and I don't want to had to do it for nothing."  
  
"Took you a while?" Mimiru repeated. "If so, surprisingly enough you were on time!"  
  
"Hey! The real world and a virtual reality one are two differernt things!" I snapped.  
  
The bell hanging hanging from the door rung, signaling that more costumers have come in. One of of them was a girl and the other was a boy, and they looked a couple of years younger than myself.   
  
"By the way..." I interrupted. "I need to ask you something."  
  
"Like what?" Mimiru replied through a straw she was chewing on.  
  
"What ever happened to...Sora?"   
  
Mimiru stopped all movement suddenly as if something just hit her in the head. "I.... I don't really know, to be honest. After Aura woke up and he decided to stay behind.... We never saw him again. Hopefully he's decided to leave us alone though! I got really tired of his child-like behavior! It was really getting on my nerves! Why would you care about that big paloka anyway?"  
  
"Well, I dunno. Just after he did stay behind, this really bad vibe came to me." I explained. "I feel like something bad could've happened... Whoever that person or thing was that was trying to keep Aura from awakening could've done something to him. Maybe..."  
  
"Well good! He deserves what he got then."  
  
"That's not the point, Mimiru!" I shouted, a little too loud maybe. "You have no idea what she could do to Sora! Sure, she could do something bad to him in 'The World', but it's even possible that she could kill him in the real world!"  
  
Mimiru lowered her head in guilt. Her straw jerked back and forth in her mouth with nothing to say.   
  
I started to apologize, "I-I'm sorry, I shouldn't of-"   
  
"Nah, it's okay." Mimiru spat. "Besides, I used to yell at you a lot too."  
  
I gave a weak smile. "Then I guess that means we're even."  
  
Mimiru dropped the straw from her mouth to the table. "I'll ask Bear about it later... that is, if you're not using it when he is."  
  
"Eh? No problem...I guess. I'll let him on..." I assured.  
  
The two younger children took a seat at the table next to us, babbling on about something.   
  
The girl piped up though, "Have you been playing 'The World' lately?"  
  
Like a reflex, Mimiru and I started to inconspicuously eavesdrop on their conversation.  
  
"Yeah! Have you heard about that really strong player though...?" The boy replied.  
  
---------------------------  
Yah...stupid "cliffy", but that's okay. This chapter was getting longer than I wanted it anyway.... 


	2. A Mysterious PK

Crossing Between Reality CHAPTER 2 ---------------------------  
  
The girl seemed to quickly gulp down her piece of cake. "A really strong character? Who would that be, Darren?"  
  
"It's rumored the player behind it might even be a hacker." Darren continued. "A hacker that's a player-killer."  
  
"I dunno what a hacker or a player-killer is..."  
  
"You've got to be kidding, Fiana!" Darren griped. "A hacker is someone who goes into computer files and systems when they're not supposed to, and a player killer...well... kills players. It causes them to have to re-log in, and if they didn't save, they loose the EXP they gained and the items too."  
  
"Oh, I see!" Fiana realized. "I wouldn't want to run into those type of people."  
  
After this Fiana girl finished her reply, Mimiru and I exchanged glances. The two kids continued talking about stuff that didn't matter.  
  
"A hacker that's a player-killer..." Mimiru repeated to me in a whisper. "I've been hearing a lot of things lately about this character, but only that it was rumored to be a hacker and reports of terminated characters. Those terminated characters didn't disappear because of the system administrators either, mostly them being completely innocent people, according to Subaru. So, they're guessing it's someone of that type."  
  
I quickly shrugged it off. "What's wrong with terminated characters?"  
  
Mimiru glared a look of disappointment. "They're getting harmed in the real world, Tsukasa."  
  
"But -- but -- but how?" I shrieked.  
  
"Nobody knows, not even the system administrators." Mimiru shook her head. "It's a shame; Pathetic jerks out there ruining things for everyone. They think just because they're hiding behind a computer screen that they're completely capable of everything and anything. Cowards."  
  
I simply twiddled my finger around the table, unable to reply. What was to be said? Maybe disappearing from "The World" for so long wasn't a good idea, after all.  
  
Mimiru got up. "I'm going to ask those kids something. I'll be right back." She walked up to them unexpectantly. I continued to sit in silence, listening to the conversation from afar.  
  
"Say kid, what's this about that player-killer you mentioned?" Mimiru interrupted.  
  
"You play in 'The World' too?" Fiana asked, going off topic.  
  
Mimiru nodded. "But that's beside the point. What information do you have on this character? I need to know!" Darren gave an amused look. "Maybe I'll tell ya... in 'The World'."  
  
"Oh, come on!" Mimiru griped. "If you're not going to tell me, then just say so!"  
  
Darren didn't reply. Without a word he stood up and walked away to throw away his trash, then looked at his watch.  
  
"Fiana, we have to go." He ordered. "Otherwise my mom's gonna get mad at us."  
  
"Awww... alright." Fiana moaned. "By the way, my character in 'The World' is Miora! Maybe we can meet sometime!" Then tagging along like a loyal dog, she followed Darren out the shop and walked off.  
  
Mimiru narrowed her eyes as she made her way back to the table.  
  
"Ooh, I swear, kids like him make me so mad!" She ranted. "I'll never understand guys!"  
  
Continuing to twiddle my finger on the table, I asked, "Why do you need to know? Maybe it's not that much of a catastrophe."  
  
"It sure is!" Mimiru answered. "Besides, Subaru wanted to know as much information as we could get. She is one of those high-and-mighty characters when it comes to class, so you know she'd be able to do something about it if we found enough clues."  
  
Who knows why right then and there this hit me, but suddenly I realized something.  
  
"Mimiru?"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"I just noticed... we've been calling each other by our names in 'The World'. Don't you think that's a little odd, or..."  
  
Mimiru snickered a bit. "Well, yeah, it is sort of odd, but... It'll be easier to remember than two names and confusing them, don't you think?"  
  
"I guess." I said. "Dad does call me 'Tsukasa' as a nickname..."  
  
"Well then, all is solved!"  
  
That was quick...  
  
"But anyway, since that girl gave me her character name, and she knows that annoying kid, maybe we'll be able to figure somethin' out!" Mimiru continued. "Maybe Subaru can be around when we meet them, so we don't misinterpret anything."  
  
"The World" this, "The World" that. I thought I came for a shopping trip, not a whole new version of a virtual reality game in my real life.  
  
"How about we get started." I requested. "And lets forget about this mess for just a while."  
  
"You're right." Mimiru said. "Besides, I'll finally be able to get that new bag I told you about!"  
  
"The one made in Germany?"  
  
Mimiru nodded with glee. "Oh, you remembered! I can't wait to get it, either. I have two other friends at school who wanted one too. Do you have any friends at school?"  
  
I winced at the thought. "Well... not really."  
  
"You can't act so antisocial all the time, Tsukasa." Mimiru shook a finger at me. "It might've been okay when you were around us, but you're not going to go anywhere with an attitude like that in the real world!"  
  
If she only knew... Old memories swarmed of the past swarmed in my head. I hated those days, and I wish they never happened. Not everybody can be as lucky as others, though.  
  
Mimiru smiled at me. "But as long as you're doing good in school, all s'well!"  
  
I picked up my duffel bag beside me and stood up, brushing down my skirt. "Well, lets go."  
  
The both of us gathered our things and headed out as well. Of course, the first thing on Mimiru's mind seemed to be that stupid bag, so we went on what seemed like a day's worth of exercising just to get to one measly little store. Like a little kid who just got one of those huge lollipops, Mimiru purchased the bag... and I think it just made her day.  
  
"See! See!" She exclaimed. "I told you, the metals on this bag are real! It's not that fake, cheap stuff you see in second-hand stores!"  
  
I forced a smile. There wasn't anything special about that bag in particular, but nothing was worth ruining Mimiru's happy-moment. So, after she finished hugging and cuddling her brand new prize, we picked out random stores that looked good as we saw them. I didn't do a whole lot of buying, more like window-shopping.  
  
* * *  
  
I didn't get home until more or less around four o'clock. The trip, if anything, was great! Hanging out with Mimiru at Shimokita was probably the best time I've had in a while. For once we weren't battling a monster in a dungeon, figuring out ways to help me log out of "The World", or her not getting on my case for one reason or another.  
  
Once I walked in the door to our small apartment, dad was typing away, working on one thing or another on his little laptop. I placed my belongings down, in places they weren't supposed to be at anyway, and made a mad dash to the computer. When it seemed like I suddenly woke up from a trance, I was holding the headgear in front of me for... "The World". What was I doing? Why the heck do I have the feeling to want to return now? Before I let these questions puzzle me any longer, I logged in, letting my gut feeling lead me to what I was about to do.  
  
What was going to happen..?  
  
"I'd be wondering when you'd get home." came a voice. "Surprise, surprise." I turned around quickly, wondering who was speaking with an all-too- familiar tone.  
  
"D-dad!?"  
  
Sure enough, it was him... Bear.  
  
"Bu-what the-how?" I studdered.  
  
"Well, I installed a new modem on this laptop." He said. "The connection isn't quite as good, but seeing as we're both going to be using the Internet now..."  
  
"Wow, this is certainly, uh... an unexpected convenience..." I responded.  
  
He nodded. "By the way, you can just continue to call me 'Bear' here."  
  
I scratched my head. "Okay... So..." I looked around. "I have no idea why I came..."  
  
"You seem concerned about something." Dad noticed.  
  
"Sort of..." I admitted. "Mimiru told me about a really devastating PK character roaming around. She wanted to know more information about it, but this one kid wouldn't tell her and she got upset about it... So, I don't know if I really should be concerned about it or not."  
  
Dad leaned against a wooden pole. "Hmm... well, it's your choice to be part of this or not. Mimiru, B.T., and myself have been in the aid of Subaru to find who is up to this, but all we have is rumors to go by. Krim wanted to help, but apparently he had another business trip to attend to, so your help would contribute a lot. It's your choice though."  
  
"I'll do what I can." I began to walk off.  
  
"Where are you going?"  
  
Shrugging, I replied, "Don't have a clue. I'll just find somewhere to go..."  
  
I heard somebody log in, but I didn't bother to turn around to see who it was.  
  
"Ah! B.T., glad to see you're here." Dad greeted.  
  
Then I did bother. I turned around, and sure enough, it was B.T.  
  
"Hello, Bear." B.T. greeted back. "Oh, so I see Tsukasa's returned to 'The World'. Finally decided to come back, kid?"  
  
Silencing myself, I turned back around and continued walking. It was rather rude of myself, but I just wasn't in the mood to talk anymore. Something still bothered me... about Sora...  
  
* * *  
  
Well, I ended off in a cave. A beautiful, mysterious one. The air was tainted with blue, yet the various crystals on the rock walls reflected off a variety of colors that gave off the deep feeling. A rock path followed above the crystal clear water, twisting off into the depths of the cave. The water stood still, with the only sound being one drop of water falling at a time. There was no wind, but it felt rather cool inside here. I sat myself at the ledge of the pathway, staring into my reflection. I took the bottom of my staff and began turning it in circles in the water, disturbing its peaceful stillness. I looked up to see if there was anything in particular there, but the walls seemed to fade from blue to pitch black as it climbed up. This cave was so peaceful, and it seemed like a soul hadn't intruded this area for a long, long while. It was almost a perfect place to fall asleep in.  
  
I heard a small beep while gazing into my reflection. 'An e-mail.' I thought. As I mentally read it, it drew a smile upon my features.  
  
'Hey, Tsukasa!  
  
I had a great time today! We should start doing this more often - Possibly to other places, and with more people too! I told one of my friends all about the trip, and now they want to meet you, too. See ya next time you're logged in!  
  
-Mimiru'  
  
She truly is great. Meeting Mimiru's friends wasn't exactly something I was too crazy about, but I'm glad she cares. Continuing to circulate my staff in the water, I thought of what to do next. Mimiru did just send that e- mail... maybe she's on. I decided to send her an e-mail back.  
  
'Mimiru,  
  
Thanks. I'm on right now, as you can see. I'm in the Crystillian Caves, if you want to meet me up here.  
  
-Tsukasa'  
  
As if on cue, a small fish suddenly leapt out of the water near me, and splashed back down instantly. I stared at the ripples it left behind; I didn't even think there was life in this cave. If that's how you would put it.  
  
"Tsukasa! Are you in here?" Mimiru's echoing call filled the cavern.  
  
I picked up my staff from the water and stood up. "Over here."  
  
Mimiru's head perked up and she instantly broke into a run. "There you are! You could've told me which part of the cave, you know."  
  
"Sorry," I apologized. "Didn't realize there were so many places in this cave."  
  
"It's okay. So, what did you call me here for?" Mimiru asked.  
  
"No reason." I replied. "Besides, this is a beautiful place, don't you think?"  
  
Mimiru looked around in awe. "Wow, Tsukasa... This is truly great! I've never really bothered coming here, how did you find this place?"  
  
"I was waiting for Subaru here one day." I answered. "I wanted to meet her again. Since nobody ever really comes here, it seemed like a great place to be by myself."  
  
"Oh, so this is where you two hang out all the time." Mimiru said.  
  
"Not quite." I corrected. "That's somewhere else. It's not a cave."  
  
Mimiru giggled out of embarrassment. "Okay then. Oh! By the way, Bear told me you were gonna help us with the PK character, right?"  
  
"I'll do what I can." I repeated.  
  
"Tsukasa, you'd be such a big help!" Mimiru exclaimed. "You can go anywhere you want in this world, and you even have sences in this place. It's almost like you're really living here!"  
  
I sat myself back down, set my staff down as well, and began looking at my reflection again. My feet dangled down, only a foot away from touching the water.  
  
"Mimiru, please don't think I'm an idiot for saying this," I started. "but I almost feel like 'The World' is where I'm supposed to be. Everything around me is more comfortable to be around." Mimiru walked aside me, and still standing up, she joined me in watching her reflection as well. "Do you think I'm saying this because something's wrong?"  
  
Mimiru's eyes wandered off to another part of the water. "Tsukasa... 'The World' is just a game; It's not real. You can't possibly live your life in a fake world. The real world is a whole lot better than you think, trust me. You just need to find it."  
  
Silence.  
  
I lowered my head into my arms. "Subaru said something of the similar... I don't understand why I didn't want to come back after I logged out. I love it here."  
  
Mimiru came over and ruffled my hair. "Well, silly, we all do! Now c'mon, lets do something more exciting than sitting around this ole' cavern!"  
  
* * *  
  
"There's been another record of a terminated character." Subaru stated. "Again, it had nothing to do with the system administrators."  
  
B.T. sighed. "All these rumors running around are so vague, and every one that seems it would lead to something is executed due to another change of detail."  
  
"I think we're looking in all the wrong places." Bear responded. "It's highly doubtful that players on the 'net would be of any help."  
  
Everybody stood quiet for a moment. It was true, though; Players were hardly of any help when it came to important things. Enough false rumors were spread about me when I was trapped, stupid enough for me to laugh at when I heard them.  
  
"Oh my, I almost forgot!" Mimiru interrupted. "I'm supposed to meet somebody right around now." "That's okay." Subaru said. "Do what you must."  
  
"And Tsukasa, you're commin'!" Mimiru grabbed my arm instantly and dragged me off the bridge.  
  
"Ack! Wait! Mimiru, what are you-"  
  
"Shh! Pipe down, will ya?" Mimiru snapped. She took a quick glance at the others to see if they were looking. "Remember those two kids at the cake shop in Shimokita?" I nodded. "Well, that girl, she gave me her character name. That was enough to look up her member address, and I asked her if that boy and her could meet me up at the cliffs at the Doragen Fields."  
  
"Why do you want me to come?" I asked.  
  
"Because! Please, Tsukasa?" She begged. "I really need you there!"  
  
Not like I had much of a choice... "All right, all right... I'll go with you."  
  
Hesitantly, Mimiru grabbed my sleeve and pulled me along to the Chaos Gate. From there we teleported from the Aqua City to the Doragen Fields, then quickly raced to the cliffs. Like planned, our expected visitors were there.  
  
"You're Miora, I presume?" Mimiru asked, making sure.  
  
She smiled. "Yup! Just as you asked, I brought my cousin along, too! So what do you need from me n' Darren?"  
  
"How many times do I have to tell you, Miora, it's Doriak!" He griped. "We use character names in 'The World'!"  
  
"Sorry!" Miora apologized. "I'm just not used to calling you that. I am new to this!"  
  
'Doriak' lifted his eyes towards me, and suddenly looked shocked. "Hey! You're that Wave Master from before!"  
  
"From before?" Somehow though, I knew what he was going to say.  
  
"Yeah! The one who had that monster that killed off players!"  
  
I turned my head in guilt. I was right about ready to take off, but Mimiru grabbed my arm, like she knew what I was about to do.  
  
"Hey kid, don't say a thing." Mimiru ordered. "I didn't come to waste time listening to you talk about false trash about Tsukasa. Now spill what information you've got on this PK character."  
  
Doriak stood up. "Okay, if I'm talking about the right one, I think I saw him the other day."  
  
--------------------------- 


	3. In the Flesh

Crossing Between Reality CHAPTER 3  
  
Author Note: Thanks for all the positive feedback on the reviews ^^! It makes me a happy bunny. Well, I'm still in Puerto Rico at the current moment. I thought I would have more than just one chapter, but I guess I wasn't as bored as I thought I would be! Is that a good thing? @_@; Well, anyway, who cares. Read on, and enjoy. NOTE: I would like to add that FFNet sometimes doesn't paragraph things that are ment to be on the next line. -_-; Also, I replaced my notice thing as the real third chapter, just so it doesn't screw up my chapters and stuff. That is all. ----------------------------  
  
Mimiru grew with sudden interest. "You think? What did you see?"  
  
"I was kind of far from the scene, so I can't give you looks." Doriak said, somehow knowing Mimiru would ask about that. "But I remember he came up to a player, and after a bit of bickering and verbal fights, the PK just killed the character. It wasn't just your normal everyday attack either, where the character fell over and died. The character seemed to glitch up, like a T.V. gone screwy. The PK disappeared, and the character hadn't disappeared yet, so I went off to help him. The guy seemed like he was over dramatic, or it was the real thing, but he muttered something and just... went off in that screwy T.V. fashion again. I don't know, it's hard to explain. After that, some disruption in the field caused me to have to log out; So I know for a fact, there's something fishy about this certain character."  
  
"Seemed to glitch up, huh?" Mimiru repeated. "What did he mutter?"  
  
Doriak shrugged. "'I can feel it,' I think. Something along those lines."  
  
"What kind of weapon did the PK carry?" Mimiru continued with the questions.  
  
"Well, I'm not sure what they're called, but," Doriak got up and held his hand in the impression he was holding a stick. "It was a long post, but on each end there was a blade, sort of like the blade on my cousin's lance over there, but a whole lot bigger."  
  
Mimiru snapped with her fingers. "This would've been perfect if Subaru was here! This is definitely more information than we've had yet!"  
  
"You mean Lady Subaru?" Miora asked. "You actually KNOW her?"  
  
"Of course!" Mimiru replied. "We're helping her our on this little mission you know."  
  
"Ooooh, you're so lucky!" Miora chanted. "I would do anything to be able to actually meet her! Isn't that right, Dar- I mean, Doriak? Lady Subaru must be the best!"  
  
"That's beside the point." I added.  
  
"Well, what do you have to say, Wave Master?" Doriak asked me.  
  
I gave my best glare to him. "You say that like I've done something wrong."  
  
He looked back at me with daring eyes. "Well, I'm off. You have my luck with that player-killer." Doriak teleported off.  
  
Miora's eyes grew wide. "Heeey! Wait a minute! You left me behind!" She grumbled and kicked the dirt. "He always does that to me..."  
  
"This probably won't be much of a help, but try asking around if you can be part of their party." Mimiru recommended. "Once you do, you won't have to hang around with your cousin anymore. I sure wouldn't want to be with him..."  
  
"I think I will!" Miora cheered. "See ya!" She teleported off as well.  
  
"This is GREAT!" Mimiru laughed, punching the air.  
  
"Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but," I stopped for a moment, thinking if it was the right thing to say. "It still doesn't tell us anything on who the character is. We just know what the effects are when they attack a player, and I honestly don't think that does a whole lot."  
  
Mimiru held her post, fist in air, and only moved her head facing me and gritted her teeth. "You're right... But it's something worth mention, right?"  
  
Shrugging, I responded, "Well, yeah, we have nothing to loose. Anything could help."  
  
Mimiru unfroze from her victory pose, and moved her hands behind her back. She started to move one of her feet around in the ground. "Y'know, Tsukasa, all this searching for a stupid player-killer is really boring now. I want action; I want adventure! That's what I come to 'The World' for! Sure, I'm concerned about the well-being of others, but I'm beginning to get rusty here!" Mimiru looked up and noticed the look on my face. "Tsukasa! Don't you get where I'm coming from? Lets go to a dungeon! Get some rare items, level up. So what about it?"  
  
"Well, are you sure it's not getting to late?" I asked. "Who knows how long it would take to get through any dungeon."  
  
Mimiru groaned, "You're right, I almost forgot about the time. Oh, great, tonight I'm supposed to be doing something with my mom, too... Aw, man! I was hoping I could pull an all-nighter this Saturday, too."  
  
I gave off a small snicker. "Yeah, and I don't think dad's going to want me on all night, either. He's always telling me, 'It's not good for someone to stay on all the time.'"  
  
(A/N: Good thing I'm not his kid... ^_^; )  
  
"Well, you timed this just right." Mimiru said. "My mom's telling me to get off right now, so you know what that means. The dungeon can wait until tomorrow!"  
  
"Tomorrow, then." I reminded myself.  
  
"Bye, Tsukasa! I had fun today!" Mimiru chanted as she disappeared within a series of golden rings. Which pretty much left me out in the middle of nowhere, all alone, with nothing do to but wonder what to do next.  
  
'Well, I guess I'm done for the day too.' I thought.  
  
I teleported off to the nearest Chaos Gate, and, well, logged off. Once I had safely done so, I took off the headgear, setting both it and the controller safely down. Outside it was a little dark. I decided to set foot into the kitchen to get something to eat, considering my stomach was growling. Dad was still logged into "The World", sitting in front of his little laptop and all.  
  
"Tsukasa doesn't seem to be replying either." He said. "Maybe those two are in the middle of something important."  
  
I stiffled a quiet laugh. Actually, it was quite interesting watching him sit there, looking like he was talking to absolutely nothing. Deciding not to disturb dad, I walked into the kitchen and took out a few cookies from a package sitting out, and then sat across the table from dad.  
  
"I'll try contacting them in a few minutes. Maybe by then they'll be done."  
  
I smiled to myself and I continued chowing down. Dad pursued with whatever conversation he was having with everybody else. Apparently, whenever he tried contacting me again, I just so happened not to be replying. I wonder why, hmm?  
  
"I'm going to see what's up with her, then."  
  
I innocently finished off the last of my cookies when dad logged off and was surprised to see me at the other side of the table.  
  
"So THAT'S where you are." He said. "What happened with Mimiru?"  
  
"She had to log off, and it got pretty boring being out there all by myself." I replied.  
  
Dad nodded. "So, with those people Mimiru was supposed to meet up with; What happened?"  
  
"Basically some other players in 'The World'." I answered. "One of them said something about knowing that PK going around. So, naturally, Mimiru wanted to squeeze some juice out of him. We got something, but I don't think it's much."  
  
"Think you can tell me?"  
  
"Really it was just what happened after the character was attacked." I explained. "But, the kid did say that the character mumbled something before going ka-put. From what it was, I don't think people are just falling into a coma-like state or getting amnesia, but feeling the attack as if it were real."  
  
"That's definitely not good news." Dad said. "If that's the case, then the system administrators, as well as us, better hi-tail it quick."  
  
"I know, I know." I sighed. I leaned my head on my arms. We both sat in silence for a minute. "Do you ever worry about what could've happened to Sora?"  
  
"Sora? Hmm..." Dad thought for a moment. "Actually, I figured he accomplished what he wanted to, so he no longer needs to be around."  
  
"No longer needs to be around, huh..." I repeated.  
  
Odd... he sounded as if he wanted to be with us. The way he acted at the very end, he offered to even help save Aura. The last words I heard from Sora repeated in my head for the first time since then...  
  
'Tsukasa! I want to be your friend!'  
  
He wants to be my friend... So, why didn't he ever come back? Unless that goof didn't mean what he said. No, that can't be it. I tapped my head repeatedly, trying to think of all the possible reasons that would make sense.  
  
"How about I make some dinner?" Dad asked. "Lets get our mind off this subject for a little while."  
  
"Yeah, sure." I replied.  
  
* * *  
  
It was already three AM, and I still wasn't asleep. What was bothering me so much? Probably nothing at all; A lot has happened to me in just one day. No matter how much I twisted and turned, even attempting to close my eyes, they wouldn't stay closed and my mind refused to shut off for the night. I rolled over and looked at the clock. Three o'one. That one minute seemed like twenty.  
  
Without thinking twice, I flipped the blankets off me and rolled out of bed. Tiptoeing as quietly as possible, I walked out of my room, past dad's room, through the living room and into the office room.  
  
"What am I thinking?" I muttered. "Nobody's going to be on at this bloody hour of the night."  
  
Yeah, right, like I was going to let that thought get past me.  
  
Ready. Set. Go.  
  
One moment I see the ALTMIT screen on my desktop, the next, I'm in the root town Mac Anu. "The World" seems to go by the time in the real world, considering how it was dark except for the dim lamps that were lighting the pathways. There was almost nobody in the town. There was a Long Arm there, and a Twin blade ran by, but that was about it. Its dead silence gave off an eerie feeling, unlike when it was packed during the day.  
  
"Tsukasa."  
  
I jumped. On the bridge in front of me, I could hardly make out the shadowy figure of B.T.  
  
"Oh, B.T. What are you doing here?" I asked.  
  
"Nothing in particular." She replied, giving off a quiet sigh. "It's much more peaceful when nobody's around, don't you think?"  
  
I looked around once more. "I don't know, it's kind of creepy with nobody around and it being all dark."  
  
B.T. lifted herself from the rail of the bridge she was leaning on and took a few steps toward me. She was a little bit more visible now that she was closer to the light. B.T. continued to stare at me with a calm smile until she finally spoke up.  
  
"Something's bothering you. I can see it written all over your face."  
  
I didn't want to admit it much, but B.T. doesn't seem like the kind of person you can hide things like this from. I acknowledged her by nodding.  
  
"Come on, what's wrong? You can trust me." She assured.  
  
"D-do you happen to have Sora's member address?" I asked.  
  
B.T.'s expression changed quickly. "Sora? Why him?"  
  
"Just tell me if you do!" I demanded.  
  
She sighed, and gave it over.  
  
"I don't understand why you'd need it, Tsukasa." B.T. seemed to complain. "He hasn't bothered us since Net Slum, if you didn't know."  
  
"I do, and that's exactly what's bothering me."  
  
I stood tall and held my staff up straight, trying my best to look serious about the situation. B.T. slumped her shoulders and chuckled.  
  
"Tsukasa, you are a strange one indeed. But. I guess I could say, that's what I like about you."  
  
"Ah! Someone else is here!"  
  
B.T. looked over my shoulder as I turned around.  
  
I looked at the newcomer for a moment, and then it struck me. "Hey, you're that girl. Miora, right?"  
  
She nodded. "How'd you know?" Miora flipped her blue hair away from her face. I hadn't paid much attention to what her character looked like before, but now I studied it a little better. Her hair was a sky-blue, only down to her shoulders, and her bangs were orange. She had what looked like a turtleneck, which was actually connected to a pink cape. Then she had what looked like a yellow leotard, as well as the same color pink that went down to her shins. Her gloves were yellow as well, and had a rope tied across her chest, which held her weapon. Looking at her weapon, she was a Long Arm. "Oh, you must be that magic guy from earlier!"  
  
"Actually, I'm a g-"  
  
"It's 'Wave master'." B.T. corrected, but interrupted me. "You're a newbie, aren't you?"  
  
Miora shyly circled her hands behind her back and lowered her head. "I am. I was hoping Darren would be on, but I can't find him. Maybe he's not on. But it's so hard to play without him! Whenever I fight monsters and Darren's not around, I keep on dying! They just need to let me kill them! Is that too much to ask for?!"  
  
I looked over at B.T., who also didn't know what to say. Miora continued to stare at us with a rather obvious frown.  
  
"You guys probably don't like to talk to new people though, huh?" Miora sighed. "I constantly hear people chewing off new player's heads."  
  
B.T. smiled again. "You have to make sure you have the right equipment for you, as well as going to the right levels. A level two character won't stand a chance in a level thirteen area. Start low, and gradually go up. You'll get the hang of it. Is there a party you can be with; a group of some sort?"  
  
"I tried asking around, but so far nobody's said yes." Miora said, embarrassed.  
  
B.T. yawned, waved, and began walking towards the Chaos Gate. "Well, it's way past my bedtime. I have to get up and run some errands, so I'll see you tomorrow."  
  
I waved back at her. "Thanks for the address."  
  
"Yeah, yeah." Then B.T. disappeared into the darkness.  
  
"So what are you doing on at this hour?" Miora asked.  
  
"I should be asking you." I said. "Well, actually. Call me stupid, but I was half expecting Mimiru to be on."  
  
"Mimiru.? Oh yeah! That girl with the sword!"  
  
"She's a Heavy blade." I corrected.  
  
"Ooh, what difference does it make?" Miora whined, stomping her foot on the ground.  
  
"All the difference!"  
  
As if one cue, Mimiru jumped in unexpectantly, smile on her face and everything. It was almost like she was trying out for a role in a kiddy show, at the part when it's suddenly at that "C'mon guys! We can do it!" stage.  
  
"You need to know all the right terms to get around in 'The World', silly!"  
  
Startled at Mimiru's sudden appearance, I was going to say "That's probably why you can't get into a party", but instead went for "What the holy heck? When were you on?"  
  
"I've been on for a couple of hours, at least." Mimiru replied.  
  
"Oh!" Miora chirped. "Do you guys mind if I join your party? Your group seems like a pretty good one!"  
  
"Sorry Mi, but I go solo most of the time." Mimiru apologized.  
  
"Aww. What about you, Tsukasa? You wanna start our own group? I'm sure if my cousin knows about you, you must be really good at this game!" Miora continued begging.  
  
"Huh? Me?" I hastily asked.  
  
Miora grinned sweetly. "Yes you, silly!"  
  
"I don't think he's much of a fighter." Mimiru asked.  
  
Much of a fighter? Heck, I bet I could kick butt if I wanted to, but I can pretty much feel it when a nice little monster claw slashes right through your gut. And you want me to fight? Hah hah. I think not.  
  
Miora gave puppy dog eyes. "Why not? We'll both get better if we fight together!"  
  
Mimiru glanced over at me. "Tsukasa is just being himself."  
  
"Maybe tomorrow, then." Miora yawned. "That other lady was right; It's way too late to be on." Like B.T., she headed for the Chaos Gate. "You promise?"  
  
Neither of us said a word until Miora disappeared as well into the darkness of Mac Anu.  
  
"People who beg like that really annoy me!" Mimiru griped. "I don't see how you can tolerate that!"  
  
"Maybe I'm used to annoying people." I said.  
  
You better believe it. School, subways, just walking around town. The world just can't continue without this useless and unnecessary crap can it?  
  
"So, Tsukasa, what in the world are you doing on this late?"  
  
I rolled my eyes. "Everybody seems to be asking that question. Well, I couldn't sleep, so I snuck on."  
  
Mimiru let out a long sigh. "Yeah. I got in an argument with one of my friends a couple of hours ago. I'm sneaking on too, to let off some steam. Glad you're here though! What's up?"  
  
I slightly grinned. "I got Sora's member address, so I'm going to try to contact him."  
  
"What?! You're out of your mind!" Mimiru exclaimed. "If we wanted him to tag along with us, we would've called him a long time ago!"  
  
"You don't understand, Mimiru!" I snapped. "I'm pretty sure Sora didn't mean any harm; To him it was just a game, just as we all think of it as! Where do you think Sora went to after we went back to Net Slum? Surely, Sora would've shown some sign he was okay! Or what've something happened to him? The things that happened to me could possibly happen to him; It could happen to anybody. So until I find out what exactly happened to him, I'm not going to stop looking for Sora."  
  
Mimiru turned her head in guilt. "I. suppose you're right. To be honest, I always thought there had to be some reason why that fool never even bothered to call me, or anybody else. Even if it was just to taunt us."  
  
"I'm going to contact him as soon as I can." I added.  
  
Mimiru placed her hand on my shoulder. "All right. I'm going to forget about our disputes, and do whatever I can to help. You're serious about this, so it's gotta be vital."  
  
"You know, Mimiru." I started. "You're hands are really cold."  
  
She quickly lifted her hand. "Figures. My parents like to keep it really cold in this place sometimes." Mimiru gained her cheerful spirit. "So where do we start?"  
  
I paused for a moment. "Well. right now all we can do is contact him." I scratched my head. "This wasn't very well planned, was it?"  
  
"We'll just have to go with that first." Mimiru said. "Well, I'd rather do this later."  
  
"Why's that?"  
  
Mimiru yawned, giving an obvious sign of what she was about to say. "I'm pretty much half asleep."  
  
I snickered. "I bet you're just afraid of Sora's strength, now is it?"  
  
"Tsukasa!" Mimiru cried. "Don't be so insane!"  
  
"Never mind, never mind." I finished. "If you're tired, go to bed. It's late, but I'm sure you figured that out."  
  
"Well, look who's talking!" Mimiru snapped. "We pretty much live in the same city, mind you, so if it's late for me, it's late for you!" She crossed her arms and frowned, but soon her expression relaxed. "Maybe everything that's happened is getting to me. You're right, I'll get some sleep. Are you sure you'll be all right here all alone?"  
  
"Positive." I assured. "I need some time to myself."  
  
"Later." Mimiru called out as she was the last person to stride towards the Chaos Gate. I slumped on the side of the pathway, using my staff to lean on, and letting my feet dangle a few feet above the water. Kind of reminds me of the Crystillian Caves, without the cave part.  
  
Suddenly, a beep alerted me that I had a new e-mail. Really, it's bad enough being on at three AM in the morning, but who would e-mail me this late? Well, it's not like there's anything better to do.  
  
'[u%4-o  
  
You . after me. awakened |\e She released . ¬#3r. Us both \.\ld the key @n{. defeat. But. I need you. 1 |/3)|.'  
  
(A/N: Yeah, yeah, I kinda took the idea from Infection. ;P)  
  
It's guaranteed that I have probably never been any more lost and confused. Part of the message looked cut off, some of it not even decipherable. But what confused me any more is, who wrote this? Nobody except Mimiru, Subaru, and dad have my member address, and they're not the types to go off and write something like this. Heck, dad's flippin' asleep in bed!  
  
Stretching and yawning, I figured it was time for me to hit the sack like everyone else had. This weird e-mail can wait until later for figuring out.  
  
* * *  
  
I didn't wake up the next morning until twelve in the afternoon; Way later than usual. Good thing it was a Sunday, otherwise I would've had to fight to keep my eyes open in class. Dad was in the living room watching T.V.  
  
"Good afternoon. It's about time you woke up." Dad greeted.  
  
I rubbed my eyes. "Hi."  
  
"What were you doing up so late?" dad asked.  
  
"What'dya mean?" I asked back, trying to hide the fact I snuck on the computer.  
  
"I heard you on the computer last night." He smiled at me. "Sort of ironic now, seeing as how you never wanted to touch the thing for the longest time. So, what did you do?"  
  
"I couldn't sleep, so I just logged on for a while." I replied. "Didn't do much."  
  
Dad flipped a few channels on the T.V., then turned back facing me. "I got an e-mail from B.T. about thirty minutes ago. She wants us all to meet up at Mac Anu around one-thirty."  
  
My eyes perked up from its sleepy state. "Did she get more info on that PK guy?"  
  
Dad shrugged. "I don't know. She'll explain when we get there."  
  
* * *  
  
"Are the system administrators even doing a thing about this?!" Mimiru screeched. "It's like we're the only ones bothering to do diddly-squat around here!"  
  
"CC Corp doesn't want news of players needing medical attention because of a game going on wildfire." B.T. reminded. "They probably don't even believe any of this is going on, so of course they're not going to do much."  
  
"What about terminating the character?" I requested. Stupid idea, but who knows.  
  
"We could if we knew what character." Subaru said. "Even so, it might be the same case we had with you, Tsukasa."  
  
"What? When did you try to terminate me?" I yelped.  
  
Subaru gave off a nervous look. "Back in the day. Like I was saying, it might be like Tsukasa's case where the character can't be terminated..."  
  
Typical. The easy way never works.  
  
I sighed, looking over at a frustrated Mimiru. "Say, how about we contact him now?"  
  
"Him?" Mimiru drew a blank face. "Oh yeah! Right now would be perfect."  
  
"Where are you two going?" dad asked.  
  
"Just to call up Sora." I casually replied.  
  
Dad looked over at B.T., who only shrugged.  
  
"Just remember Nashimo's coming over today." He reminded.  
  
I slightly frowned. "Oh, him. right."  
  
Mimiru and I started to walk towards the Gate.  
  
"Who's Nashimo?" Mimiru asked.  
  
"My stepbrother." I answered.  
  
(A/N: Okay, okay, I know that's not Bear's son's real name. But they never say what it is anyway! Heck, you have to figure out that one guy is Bear's son. c_c; I bet you've even forgotten about him, too :D Haha, guess who didn't!)  
  
Mimiru became surprised. "Bear has a son?"  
  
"Well, he told me that before I was able to log out, so it wasn't that big of a surprise." I added.  
  
Mimiru tightened her fists. "Oooh! Bear never tells me anything! You're like the lucky fan girl who gets all the inside scoop on the hottest celebrity!"  
  
"Hold on! Don't go just yet!"  
  
At the same time, Mimiru and I quickly turned around. Subaru was pushing herself through the crowd as fast as she could, trying to catch up to us.  
  
"Subaru.?"  
  
She nodded. "I want to accompany you two. I admit that I've also been a little worried about Sora as well, but was afraid to speak up about it. Do you mind at all?"  
  
"Of course not!" Mimiru chirped. "If anything, it would be a whole lot better!"  
  
Subaru gave a smile of gratitude.  
  
"We're going to the Spring Valley." I instructed.  
  
When we got to the Chaos Gate, we transported over to the Spring Valley. It was only a tad foggy there, and it was raining just a little bit. There were hills everywhere, and the grass had patches of yellow and green. About fifty feet away, a river flowed by.  
  
"If I knew it was raining, I would've suggested someplace different." I groaned.  
  
"Well, I didn't think it was going to be raining right now!" Mimiru said. "A little water never hurt anybody."  
  
"You're not the one getting wet!" I complained. "Or at least feel like you're getting wet."  
  
Subaru took a seat on a wooden post near the Chaos Gate. "Shall we wait here?"  
  
"I guess so." Mimiru said. "All right, Tsukasa, send off the mail! Tell him we'll be waiting right next to the Chaos Gate."  
  
Right away I did. Mimiru said he'd probably get here right away if he was on, since he's not the type to keep you waiting. Surprisingly enough, Sora appeared in the flesh. He grinned and looked at us, one by one.  
  
"I was called here by a Tsukasa, anybody here go by that name?" Sora announced.  
  
"Sora, don't act like you don't know who we are!" Mimiru shouted.  
  
Sora tilted his head towards Mimiru, not moving an inch of his body. "If I knew who you were, I wouldn't be asking."  
  
Subaru and I exchanged glances. Sora, not remembering who we were? Something wasn't right. Something definitely was not right at all.  
  
"Quit being the arrogant fool you are!" Mimiru growled. "Tsukasa obviously called you here for a reason! Act like you have a brain for once and listen to what he has to say!"  
  
Sora drew a blade from the katar on his right hand. "If you continue to get on my nerves, I'll personally shut you up."  
  
Mimiru drew her sword. "If that's a challenge, I'll-"  
  
"Stop it!" Subaru cried.  
  
The four of us stood in complete silence, only switching our eyes over at each other. The commotion quieted down a bit, then Sora and Mimiru drew back their weapons. The rain died down a bit, which made me a little happier.  
  
"We came here for an important reason, not a war fest." Subaru declared.  
  
Mimiru took a few steps back behind Subaru and me. Sora eyed me as I stepped up closer to him.  
  
"Sora, I called you here right now because. well. I wanted to see if you were all right." I explained. "A lot of stuff went on after you stayed behind once we awakened Aura. But, you're okay now, right?"  
  
Sora jumped back. "I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about! Why am I even bothering wasting my time here?" He let his head slide sideways and grinned.  
  
"Y-you're kidding me." I said. "You haven't forgotten us already, have you?"  
  
Subaru walked at my side. "Don't you remember? Tsukasa, unable to log out. The Key of the Twilight. Aura. anything?"  
  
Sora once more drew his weapon, this time both blades. "I have other things to attend to, so if you're done messing around now."  
  
I lowered my face in disgust. Here I was, worried about Sora, and he doesn't even remember us. What was this? One big joke?  
  
"Sora, I can't believe you!" Mimiru cried from behind. "I knew that something stupid like this would happen!"  
  
Sora then flashed by extremely quickly, then was right in front of Mimiru, holding a blade right up to her nose. Suddenly, Subaru fell down.  
  
"S-Subaru!?" I exclaimed.  
  
Subaru's dead body disappeared not long after. I turned around, and both Mimiru and I were in shock. Sora took the blade away from Mimiru's face, and twisted to the side.  
  
"Y-you fool!" Mimiru yelled. "What the hell was that for?!"  
  
"You wouldn't shut up." Sora chuckled.  
  
I jumped in front of Sora and grabbed his arm. "There wasn't any need for that, Sora! I also want to know why."  
  
I paused, still holding my grip on Sora's arm. The funny thing was. I didn't feel it at all. My hand refused to squeeze any tighter, assuring me I was holding on to something. But it was like holding on to absolute nothingness. I let go and stepped back.  
  
"Bye bye." Sora chanted in his kiddish way, and teleported off.  
  
"Don't worry about it, Tsukasa." Mimiru sighed. "Subaru can just log back on. Sora can't do any more then cause a game over for somebody."  
  
I turned over and grabbed Mimiru's arm, causing her to look at me weird. I felt her arm still. I let ago after a moment, staring at my hands. What the heck just happened there?  
  
"I-I think I have to go now." I said. "Since my brother's coming over."  
  
"Um, okay." Mimiru replied. "I'll meet up with Subaru in Mac Anu then, to see if she's okay."  
  
I took my time logging off, but soon I took off the headset and came back to good ole' reality. From the voices in the living room, I could tell Nashimo already made his way here. Dad and Nashimo were sitting down on the sofa, dad drinking a cup of coffee.  
  
"Hey, look who it is!" Nashimo happily said.  
  
I made myself a spot on a chair across from the sofa. "Hi." Was all I simply said.  
  
"What were you doing in there?" He asked.  
  
"I was playing 'The World'." I answered.  
  
"Oh, you play it too? Why didn't you tell me, I had no idea!" Nashimo said.  
  
I brushed my bangs away from my eyes. "Yup." * * *  
  
Later that day, after my brother went back to his apartment, I went back to see if I had any new e-mail. I did, as expected, and it was from Mimiru.  
  
'Hey Tsukasa!  
  
Subaru hasn't even logged back in yet. I asked everyone, including a few random people in Mac Anu, and none of them have seen her. What's up with that? I wonder if she's okay. Probably just a little mad that Sora PK-ed her; I'd be mad too! Well, if school work doesn't slave me away, I'll see you on tomorrow!  
  
--Mimiru'  
  
I didn't bother replying back. After looking at my almost-empty inbox, I saw that strange, encoded e-mail again, right under Mimiru's message. I wonder. why was this message sent to me anyway?  
  
Right away I felt giddy inside. Why or what is was, who knows.  
  
But something was definitely not right.  
  
---------------------------- And finally, stuff begins to happen! Now, you may be thinking, "Waaaait, wasn't Sora Data Drained and stuff?" Well, yes, but I've come up with a way in where everything still makes sense. Now don't think I have a thing against Sora, or Subaru (since she had the honors of being sliced and diced)! But you have to sacrifice some things sometimes. Argh, I dunno. It's three AM in the morning right now (Sound familiar?), so I don't wanna sit and think. (But really, it is three AM. CONSPIRACY!! =O) Review with your comments and c Flames shall be cooked and eaten by the Rabid Pink Fuzzy Bunnies. G'night. 


	4. Not Comming Back

Crossing Between Reality CHAPTER 4  
  
Yay, next chapter filled with for fanfiction-ness! Guess what! I failed to mention that I beat .hack/Infection! :D Skeith was more difficult than necessary though, but I beat it and that's all that matters! I can't wait until part 2. T_T; Yeah. Well, have fun trying to figure out all the confuddlin' stuff, and enjoy this next happy chapter. -------------------------  
  
I tried not to let anything get to me, but apparently the 'Subaru-death- scene' kept replaying over and over in my head. I know that Sora's not afraid to PK anybody, but I never actually had seen it for myself. Sure, it's no big deal. Character gets killed, player gets pissed, player logs back on, and character continues to aimlessly wander around "The World", picking up where they last left off. So why was it such a big deal?  
  
Sunday came and went, nothing special happened after I logged off. Monday also decided it'll come by as well, which meant I had school. I didn't pay as much attention as I should've, which caused me to have a little more homework than usual. I did finish it though, but I didn't have time to actually log into "The World". Deciding to check my e-mail again, I figured Mimiru would've kept me updated on the latest news. Sure enough, there was a message from her.  
  
'Try to get on tonight if you can! About Subaru; So far, nobody's seen her. I'm beginning to worry a little bit. Is she okay? You two Seem to have a close connection, so you might know. Tell me if you're going to be here or not!'  
  
Then came my reply:  
  
'Sorry Mimiru, can't make it tonight. Actually, I don't have any idea what could've happened To Subaru. She hasn't even e-mailed me. Now that You mention it, I wonder what's wrong. Maybe Tomorrow we can talk.'  
  
Looking in my inbox again, there were those two messages from Mimiru, and that strange one. If that strange e-mail really had importance, wouldn't the sender at least make it legible? Thinking it's not worth my time, I highlighted the mail, and clicked for the delete button.  
  
"ERROR: Function cannot be completed." Came a message on the screen.  
  
"What?" I murmured. "Since when is it not functional to delete a stupid message?"  
  
I tried again, and again, and several more times after that, and each time the same message came up.  
  
'Uhg! This isn't worth it.' I thought, exiting my programs and getting up. 'Maybe the computer is just being whack right now.'  
  
* * *  
  
"Dad! I'm home!" I called aloud once I walked in. I was glad to be finally home from this messed up Tuesday.  
  
I put my bag down and took my shoes off, leaving them both by the door. Dad was on his laptop again.  
  
"So, what'cha doing?" I asked, leaning over his shoulder.  
  
He lifted his head up from the screen. "Actually, I need to ask you something."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"About Subaru." He stated. "Mimiru told me that she hasn't been on since Sunday afternoon, and that was right after getting PK-ed by Sora. For one thing, I'd like to know why she got killed in the first place, and why hasn't she logged back on?"  
  
I blew some air into my bangs, letting them flutter up for a split second and then back down to their rightful place. "I don't know what his problem was, but he just PK-ed her for no reason! Mimiru was just saying something to him, and suddenly 'Whoo', Subaru's sliced like a turkey on Thanksgiving. I mean, Sora couldn't of done THAT much damage to her, right?"  
  
"Well, there are possibilities." Dad said. "Maybe her computer crashed, or maybe after that, she hasn't had the time to get on."  
  
"Dad, it was one-thirty on a Sunday afternoon." I took a seat at the table. "What are the chances she had to get off right then and there? Her computer might've had a small bug, but by now wouldn't it be fixed?"  
  
Dad put his hand to his chin. "There has to be somebody out there who knows what happened to Subaru."  
  
"Maybe we're just worrying too much over nothing." I sighed. "I don't have any homework tonight, so if you can, e-mail Mimiru and tell her I'm going to meet with her." I got up from the chair and went into the kitchen. "My stomach calls!"  
  
* * *  
  
I sat on an old-looking wooden bench not too far away from the Chaos Gate in Dun Lorieag. Mimiru's supposed to be here any minute now. I laid my staff across my lap, watching as other characters walked by.  
  
"Tsukasa!" Mimiru sang as she appeared out of nowhere in front of me. "So, anything new?"  
  
I shook my head. "No, I just wanted to talk to you."  
  
Mimiru put her hands to her hips. "You know what? I got this really bizarre e-mail yesterday, and I can't even read what it says. It's all just a bunch of mumbo-jumbo placed in the middle of some words. I'll bet my sword it has something to do with that weirdo PK going around."  
  
"You got it too?" I asked, confused.  
  
"What do you mean by that?" Mimiru asked back. "You mean some idiot didn't just decide to e-mail me this, but sent it to you too?"  
  
I gave a wry look. "You think that e-mail's one big joke, huh?"  
  
Mimiru shrugged. "Maybe someone was trying to give us something important, but got messed up in the server."  
  
I snapped my fingers. "That's it! Mimiru, you're a genius!"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"We just need to find someone who can decipher this!" I continued. "Who do you think would be able to do it?"  
  
"Well, Bear and B.T. are smart people." Mimiru answered. "I'm pretty sure they're good at this puzzle stuff."  
  
I nodded. "Good. I still have it. Well, it won't let me delete it, anyway."  
  
"Well, that certainly is new." Mimiru said. "Then again, strange things always follow you around, don't they?"  
  
"Isn't that supportive." I sarcastically remarked. "I'll ask dad tonight."  
  
Mimiru chuckled. "It's so weird hearing you call Bear 'dad'. Oh, by the way, I just remembered; yesterday, why did you grab my arm like that right after Sora left?"  
  
I closed my eyes and lowered my head. "Before I answer that, I have to ask you one thing. When you walk around and explore in 'The World', you don't feel anything, right? Being attacked or killed is no problem for you here, is it?"  
  
"I-It's just a game." Mimiru replied. "Of course I wouldn't feel anything."  
  
"That's right." I said. "But you know my special case. I do feel things around here. I don't know if it means anything or not, but when I grabbed Sora's arm, it was like grabbing onto nothing. It was like something had cured my sense of touch for a moment."  
  
"But that would mean that Sora." Mimiru stopped in the middle of her sentence. I looked at her face in a way of asking to continue. "That he isn't just a mere character in a game. Maybe there isn't a real-life Sora controlling his character anymore?"  
  
"If that was the case, I'd still be able to feel it." I corrected. "You remember that sick Puchiguso I took care of, but died. I could feel it's body warmth, and when it got sicker, I could feel it getting cold. But aren't they just data within a game?"  
  
"Oh." Mimiru took a seat beside me. "Geez, first a stupid PK, then stupid Sora, and now the fact that Subaru hasn't returned. What the heck is going on here?!" She nearly pulled out her hair.  
  
"You know what? I think that somehow, that PK and Sora have a connection." I said.  
  
"Whaaa? But, Tsukasa!" Mimiru yelped.. "Sora isn't, and never was, a hacker!"  
  
I grinned at her. "You told me back in Shimokita that is was only 'assumed' that this character was a hacker. That means it could be anybody." Mimiru's eyes widened a little bit. "I'm not saying it IS Sora who's causing this whole mess, but somehow he manages to get information on these kind of things."  
  
Mimiru let out a loud whine. "So you mean we have to call up Sora again, doesn't it?"  
  
"Do we have a choice?"  
  
"Well, from sources we have so far." Mimiru narrowed her eyes. "Nope."  
  
"But the only problem right now," I started. "is will he respond this time?"  
  
Mimiru twiddled her finger on the side of the bench for a moment. "Why does Sora act like he doesn't even know who we are anymore? That's not like him."  
  
"Well, there is a possibility he HAS forgotten us." I added.  
  
"What are the chances of that?" Mimiru said. "He's just being an idiot."  
  
"Or maybe not." I responded. "After we awakened Aura, it pretty much turned into a free-for-all-anything-goes mode. So, who knows? Anything could've happened." I took my staff off my lap and dug it's bottom into the dirt. "Somehow, I think 'The World' is more than just a game."  
  
* * *  
  
Mimiru started to impatiently stride in circles, mumbling random things that I couldn't hear clearly.  
  
"He needs to hurry up!" Mimiru cried. "It's a school night you know, so if Sora doesn't show up anytime soon, I'm going to have to get off. If my mom catches me on past the time I'm allowed on, I'll have my head chewed off for sure! Where the heck could Sora be?!"  
  
"Sha-pa-pon! I'm here!" Sora once again announced in a singsong way. "You're lucky I bothered coming, so get to the point."  
  
Mimiru and I quickly turned around to see Sora emerging from behind a large rock.  
  
"All right, lets try this again without killing anybody." I ordered. "The last person you killed apparently hasn't logged back in, but we'll get to that later."  
  
A grin appeared on Sora's face. Somehow, it looked like he was satisfied.  
  
"We came here for information on that PK going around, and according to information, harms the player in the real world while literally killing their character in 'The World'." I explained. "You helped out a little with the Key of the Twilight, so maybe you can help us again."  
  
Sora slowly strode by my side. "Oh, I know who you're talking about. What do you have in exchange?"  
  
"Exchange!?" Mimiru wailed. "Sora! This is a serious situation here! We're trying to solve a problem that could help everybody who plays this game, and you want something in EXCHANGE?!"  
  
"I'm not a freebie toy, little girl." Sora said. "But, I suppose I COULD let you off the hook." He paced around me, and then in front of both Mimiru and I.  
  
"With a catch." I added, assuming there was going to be one.  
  
"Hmmm. Not exactly." Sora paused, his smile getting bigger. "Tsukasa."  
  
"Just give us the info you got!" Mimiru demanded.  
  
"Wait." I interrupted. "I want to ask about Subaru first. There has to be a reason why she never came back after you PK-ed her, Sora, so tell me. You did more than just kill her character."  
  
"Never came back?" Sora repeated. "Ah. Well, you see, your dear Subaru isn't going to be coming back."  
  
Mimiru and I froze.  
  
"W-What did you j-just say?" Mimiru stammered.  
  
Sora turned his back to us. "She isn't coming back. That is, unless you take 'Her' out of the picture. A small sacrifice." ------------------------- Short chapter, but I made it short on purpose for my own reasons. Besides, I added chapter 3 about two days ago, but it seems like nobody's noticed :P Tell me what you think! (And please don't shower me with "Oh NO! SORA NEVER DOES THAT!! He doesn't come back (or whatever lame excuse) until yadda yadda yadda!" This is Fanfiction, and I see people have a tendency to do that in the .hack//SIGN section of this place -_-; ) 


	5. Because I Need You

Crossing Between Reality CHAPTER 5  
  
A/N: And here's chapter five! Yaaay! Isn't that the best darn thing? I'm sure it is. Sorry it took so long to get out. For some reason every time I sat down and tried writing this, I pretty much did everything BUT write this. =P But it might go at this rate, too, considering I have limited computer time, school, the regular old excuse.  
  
From now on this story might get a little trippy or something... x_x; I have a feeling this is going to scream "AU!!" anytime soon... But hopefully you'll enjoy this anyway.  
  
---------------------------------  
  
"W-what do you mean?" I stuttered. "You couldn't of possibly..."  
  
"Sora!!" Mimiru screamed. "You're lying! Tell us the truth! Don't you dare mess with us, otherwise you'll pay!!"  
  
"See-ya~." Sora chuckled, and disappeared on the spot.  
  
"Tsukasa, don't believe what he said!" Mimiru demanded. "There has to be a REAL reason why Subaru hasn't logged on! M- maybe she's busy in the real world or..."  
  
I turned around, beginning to walk away.  
  
"Tsukasa!" Mimiru called. "Where the heck do you think you're going?"  
  
I stopped in my tracks, only turning my head, leering at her. "To visit an old 'friend'. I have a feeling... Maybe she knows what's going on..."  
  
Continuing on, letting my staff's bottom drag in the dirt, I walked off until Mimiru was out of sight. The sky was turning a deep purple, the clouds swirling with a red tint, but I didn't stop. I should've logged off by now. But the small, deserted area where I once wasted away my days... They might hold a clue, somehow.  
  
"Here I go." I whispered to myself.  
  
I teleported off.  
  
I appeared again in this area. The scenery hadn't changed since I last been here, unlike back then, when it was almost unpredictable what part of the game we were going to be in next. The was a little dark, the trees giving off a purple essence. But in the small area where only the grass grew, there laid the bed that had always occupied the small patch. It was broken down, the end poles collapsed, causing the bed to go crooked. The white sheets hung over its side, while the pillow still rested in its proper place. Vines made its way on the fallen poles that fell on the ground, as well as the ones still standing. On the ground, leaning upon the side of the bed was...  
  
"Aura..."  
  
There she was, her arms wrapped tightly around a teddy bear. The teddy bear was in no good condition; its eyes had been ripped out, and well as some of the stuffing, some of it exposed. I looked down at my hand. The one I used to rip it apart.  
  
Aura looked asleep, keeping completely still. She looked a little older, though. Her once wild, curly hair seemed to calm down a bit, only to wave. Her skin still kept its porcelain tone. She was like a little doll, sitting there on the store shelf.  
  
I took a step. "Au...Aura?"  
  
Her amethyst eyes slowly opened, and were directed toward me. "Some one else..." Her calm voice was almost chilling. "Have you come to play with me?"  
  
"Play?" I asked. "No, I can't."  
  
Aura grasped the bear tighter, her expression turning down. "Nobody ever wants to. Everyone has left me."  
  
I walked over towards Aura, letting my staff lean against the broken down bed. I took a seat next to her.  
  
"I'm sorry, but..." I broke off the end of my sentence. "I... I really need your help."  
  
Aura's eyes glistened as she looked up to me. "You're the Wavemaster I saw in my dreams. Aren't you? Back when I was asleep for so long."  
  
"In your dreams?" I asked.  
  
She nodded. "But when I woke up, you left me before I could ask you. My teddy got all ripped up too." I winced, not wanting to say a word. "Why did you wait for so long to come back?"  
  
"I didn't think I would ever come back." I responded.  
  
"Oh." Aura added. Her eyes closed a little. She seemed to let her mind drift off. "Wait, there was this one girl."  
  
"One girl?"  
  
"Mm-hmm." Aura lifted the teddy bear off her lap, setting it beside the bed as well, adjusting it to her liking. "But she's always sleeping. I don't know why, but she never wakes up. I've asked her if she wanted to play with me too, but she never says anything."  
  
If déjà vu were a bat, it would've smacked me right in the head. But... sleeping? No, there couldn't be someone else in the condition Aura was in.  
  
"Could you take me to this 'girl'?" I asked.  
  
Aura jumped up and giggled. "Yes! Maybe you can wake her up!"  
  
She quickly grabbed my hand and pulled me in her direction. Not letting her grip get any looser, we quickly walked into the darkened forest. I almost felt afraid, but after a moment, what was there to be afraid of? There's nothing out here that'll come out and attack us.  
  
"She's right over here, somewhere." Aura reported.  
  
As dark as it was out here, I could hardly make out a figure leaning against a tree... A familiar figure...  
  
When we finally got close enough to see this 'figure' with nothing but the moon's light, I wanted to flip. I could feel the muscles in my arms tense up.  
  
"Oh... my god..." I choked.  
  
"Do you think you can wake her up?" Aura asked.  
  
I fell on my knees, close to her. "S-Subaru..."  
  
Aura tilted her head, confused why I was so uptight. "Subaru? Oh, so that's her name. You know her?"  
  
"Aura! When did she come here?"  
  
"About two days ago." She replied.  
  
...Around the time she was PK-ed.  
  
"Oh god, no, no..." I whispered. "What are you doing here? If you've been stuck here... What about the real world?"  
  
I continued murmuring numerous questions as they appeared in my head, not expecting anybody to answer them anyway. What the hell was Subaru doing here, and to add to that, completely unconscious?  
  
'Unless you take 'her' out of the picture...'  
  
"S-Subaru!" I cried as I shook her. Her eyes stayed closed as she continued to lay there. "W-wake up! Please! Please..."  
  
Aura walked up to me, staring with her lost, purple eyes.  
  
'Take 'her' out of the picture...'  
  
"It's because I need you." Aura said. "Tsu-"  
  
"Tsukasa!"  
  
My eyes shot open, and then I was back in the room. My eyes darted in about every direction, confused for a quick moment. The headgear wasn't adjusted across my head anymore, and I didn't even have the controller in my hands. Dad was by my side, with a rather frantic look.  
  
"Geezus, don't scare me like that..."  
  
I sat in a moment of silence. "W-What? Scare you like what...? I was just..." I stopped for a minute. "Playing the game."  
  
"Well, you were on later than you're supposed to." Dad reminded. "I came to check on you, but you didn't even move when I called. I took the headgear off of you, thinking it was because you didn't notice me, and you still didn't move. For a moment I thought you were..." He stopped, but I was very aware what he was about to say.  
  
Afraid if I was stuck in "The World" all over again.  
  
I leaned over, positioning my head comfortably in my hands. "Dad... I have to tell you something... About Subaru."  
  
"Subaru? What is it?"  
  
"Well, Mimiru and I met up with Sora again, and we brought up the whole ordeal about him PK-ing her..." I started. "But he said Subaru wasn't coming back, until we got 'someone' out of the way. I wasn't sure what he meant by that, but... When I went back to Aura's realm, she showed me someone. That someone was Subaru, and she was just lying there unconscious. She wouldn't even budge. I don't know what that's supposed to mean, or if that's even her for real, but I just know one thing..."  
  
Dad placed his hand on my shoulder. "What?" He stated, as if thinking I wasn't going to finish.  
  
"Things are completely screwing up."  
  
Then, it was completely silent. Only the computer dared to make any noise, with it's small clicks and beeps that it made when it was on.  
  
"Does anybody else know about this?" Dad asked.  
  
"No." I answered. "I was just there, until you came in... I had just left Mimiru before I went there."  
  
"So nobody else knows about this?"  
  
I shook my head.  
  
"I'll tell B.T. and Mimiru about it tomorrow then." Said dad. "You should get ready for bed. School still is tomorrow."  
  
I sighed as I got up.  
  
"And maybe you should take a... a break from 'The World' for a little bit."  
  
I winced at the thought, and I really don't have a clue why I would need a 'break'. Nonetheless, I went off and got ready for school.  
  
* * *  
  
Wednesday. Middle of the blasted week. For some reason, I hate Wednesday, but nonetheless, it's that day of the week and I can't do a darn thing about it.  
  
I was sitting in the middle of class, not really paying attention. I was leaning on my arm, chewing on the pencil eraser.  
  
"So, who knows what 'x' would be equal to?" The teacher asked the class.  
  
I glanced up at the chalkboard, looking at the problem. He teacher wasn't looking in my direction anyway, so I took my eyes off the board and let my mind drift off once more. He picked on a student, and she correctly guessed the answer. How algebra is going to be needed in my future is beyond me.  
  
The teacher looked at his watch, and for some reason the clock too, and set down the ruler in his hands.  
  
"Okay class, it's only two minutes until lunch, so I'll stop it here." He announced. Random students sighed happily, wondering when he'd stop. "Since we managed to cover a lot more than usual today, I won't assign any homework."  
  
Everybody got into their little groups, chatting away the latest news and whatnot. I continued sitting down, chewing away at the end of my pencil, listening on to the conversation two guys and a girl were having beside me.  
  
"Hey, why couldn't you log on last night?" One of the guys asked. "I almost got in trouble because I was on so late waiting for you."  
  
The other shrugged. "My connection must have been having some sort of disturbance or something, because every time I did manage to log in, my computer would get all screwy."  
  
"This game must really be popular, I hear a lot of people talking about it." The girl piped up. "Do you think I'd be able to try it?"  
  
"Of course!" The first guy answered. "Maybe you can come over to my place and try it out."  
  
The girl smiled and let the two continue with their conversation.  
  
"So Tokiyama! Did you hear what's up in Mac Anu?"  
  
He shook his head. "You mean about that Subaru chick? Actually, some guy told me she just got tired of the game and quit... I've heard so many different things it isn't funny. I'm just going to stick with that she quit, it's a whole lot more reasonable."  
  
"Yeah, me too. I'm surprised someone like Balmung hasn't even quit yet. That guy's been playing since the beginning, so I've heard."  
  
I frowned, but not to them. Subaru quitting?! While the situation for us was getting a lot worse, they want to simply think Subaru QUIT?  
  
I faced them, and before they could continue, I said, "Excuse me, but Subaru didn't just quit. She isn't that kind of person."  
  
All three of them looked at me with a puzzling look.  
  
"And how would you know?" Tokiyama retorted. "You're not the kind of person who would play a game like 'The World'! Even if you did, you would never get to know someone like Subaru!"  
  
"Actually, I do play the game." I corrected.  
  
"Oh, is that so?"  
  
"Sure is."  
  
The other guy gave me a smirk. "Okay then, if you 'know her personally', what exactly did happen to Subaru? Everyone's just dying to know."  
  
I stared at them for a moment. "I-I'd rather not talk about it... Besides, you'd think I was crazy..."  
  
"As if you already weren't..." The girl muttered. I shot a glare at her.  
  
"BRRRRING!"  
  
The lunch bell rang, as like little mice chasing after cheese, everyone darted out of the classroom.  
  
But then again, having to not explain what really happened to Subaru to a couple of idiots was better than doing so. I grouped up my things, being the last person, besides the teacher, to leave the classroom.  
  
---------------------------------  
  
And it was short, filler chapter too... Bah. Sorry, but I guess I'll have to add shorter chapters than usual to the "List of Crap". ^_^; R&R, because they make me happy that you're happy about this happy story that I happily wrote! 


	6. A New Hope

Crossing Between Reality CHAPTER 6  
  
A/N: ::Gives reviewers cookies:: You guys deserve them. ^^ It really makes me happy that you guys like this story so much!  
  
On other news, I've come up with some new ideas for this story, so I don't think it's going to go AU anymore. Please continue reviewing and tell me what you think!  
  
----------------------  
  
Thursday came by, as well as Friday, and those two days I didn't get on the computer. For one thing, school decided to take up time in my life, and I guess I was fulfilling dad's request for "taking a break from the game" anyway. I think that Tokiyama kid in my class was telling a few people about my comments in class. A few people who I know for sure at school that play the game looked at me weird the last two days.  
  
"Hah hah, that girl playing 'The World'? Don't be serious!"  
  
Probably true. I guess people take firsts look at me and think I'm the type of person who would actually want to sit down and bother studying Japanese history. But I guess you have to consider I've never told anybody about what really happened, what seemed so long ago. Not that I'd want to; Now that weird kid who never talks had some sort of crazy dad, got a new one at age fourteen, and got unwillingly stuck in a game? Psheesh, I'd never hear the end of it after that.  
  
On other notes, it was Saturday already. My brother, who lives all the way across Tokyo, was supposed to be coming over today and spend the whole weekend with us. Occasionally he did this, which was cool. It's nice to have someone to hang out with once in a while. I was sprawled out on the couch, the only sound being the clicking of the ceiling fan. Dad went out to get some more food, since apparently our stock had run low. So, here I was, laying on a couch, not having anything better to do.  
  
I looked over at the clock. Three twenty-four.  
  
"Geez, Nashimo should be here by now..." I muttered.  
  
I rested my head back down comfortably on the small pillow, pulling over a blanket from the sofa and covering myself.  
  
* * *  
  
Knock, knock, knock!  
  
I jumped up immediately from my position on the sofa. Somebody had knocked on the door. I looked over at the clock, which read three forty-five. Not too long of a nap.  
  
"Coming!" I called.  
  
I rolled out from the sofa, rushing quickly to the nearby door. I opened it up, and there was Nashimo.  
  
"About time you came." I said, mixed in with a little bit of a sleepy tone.  
  
He just chuckled a bit. "Sorry! The crowds at the subways are crazy. So, you going to let me in?"  
  
I stepped aside. Nashimo walked in, carrying a bag with him.  
  
"Hey, what's in the bag?" I asked.  
  
"Well, actually, since I found out that you played 'The World'..." He dug in the bag and took out some sort of computer-y thing. "They just released a new device that allows two players to log on with one computer! You just plug this in the USB port, and then you plug in the headset and controller on the device, and there you have it!"  
  
I cocked an eyebrow.  
  
"And I thought you'd be happy about this."  
  
"I'm not saying I'm not..."  
  
"We'll try it out later then!"  
  
I shrugged. "Aw, heck, I guess."  
  
Typical of him. Always cheery and carefree when I'm with him. It wouldn't hurt to try it; I just don't want to bring up the whole PK and Subaru deal when Nashimo's around.  
  
"So, where's dad?" He asked.  
  
"Went to get some food." I answered. "He should be back soon, he left about a half-hour ago."  
  
"Say... Since he's out..." Nashimo pointed to the office room. "Should we try it out now?"  
  
I grinned. "Yeah."  
  
* * *  
  
Nashimo turned the monitor back around, sitting back in one of the chairs.  
  
"Gee wiz! You'd think with the technology nowadays, things would at least be a little easier to put together sometimes!" Nashimo sighed.  
  
Unable to respond, I just nodded my head in agreement and watched.  
  
"Okay, it's got to work this time, so lets try it again." Nashimo said.  
  
I picked up the headset and put it on. "I think it's working. The little red light in the corner is on."  
  
"Yes!" Cheered Nashimo. He put on the headset as well, took the mouse in his hand and clicked on "The World".  
  
"Player 1: Please enter your username and password." Nashimo typed in his information and hit enter. I did the same when it asked for player two.  
  
Mac Anu was the first vision I saw. I looked around, figuring the guy next to me was Nashimo. Actually, his outfit kind of reminded me of Crim's. He wore a navy blue robe similar to his, but with more accessories. He had a white tucked-in shirt underneath, and the blue robe had a golden lining. His light-blonde hair rested on the same blue colored bandana underneath, and like the robe, had a golden lining. Judging by his weapon, he was a Long Arm as well.  
  
"Um... You're Nashimo, right?" I asked, unsure.  
  
He turned and smiled. "Yep! I'm guessing you're my little sister then, am I right?" He paused and examined me. "Your character looks more like a male than a female."  
  
"That's because my character is." I responded. "And you don't have to call me your 'little sister'. I'm Tsukasa here."  
  
"Oh, so you even use it in the game." Nashimo said. "Where did you get that name from, anyway?"  
  
I let my grip on my staff go a little loose. "My mom gave me that nickname when I was little, before she died..."  
  
Nashimo's smile relaxed a little. "Oh... You never talk about your mother a lot."  
  
"There's not much that I can tell."  
  
"Well, no matter, where do you want to go?"  
  
I looked closely in the distance, on the bridge.  
  
"Hey, that looks like Mimiru..." I thought aloud.  
  
"Who?"  
  
"Hold on! I'm going to that bridge!" I announced.  
  
Nashimo followed as I ran towards the bridge. Sure enough, it was Mimiru, just leaning against the edge of the bridge and staring into the water.  
  
"Mimiru!" I called. She perked her head her head up immediately, looking in my direction.  
  
"There you are!" She lifted herself up and strode towards me as well. "I was wondering where you were. You haven't even replied to my e-mails!"  
  
I gave a sheepish smile. "Well, you know, school's been occupying me... Dad said to take a little break and stuff anyway..."  
  
Mimiru's smile disappeared. "Yeah, he told me something weird went on. But what did happen? He told me that you saw Subaru!" Mimiru looked beside me, noticing Nashimo. "Oh, who's this guy? A new friend?"  
  
"Actually, it's my brother." I answered.  
  
"Yep!" He piped up. "You can just call me Nash."  
  
I gave him a look. "'Nash'?"  
  
"You think everything I do is weird, don't you?"  
  
"You're just weird in general..."  
  
Mimiru chuckled. "Well, anyway, mind telling me what's up, Tsukasa?"  
  
I paused. "I'll tell you later... It's something that I'd rather tell you privately." I tried eyeing Nashimo without him noticing.  
  
"Hey now, I'm sure it's nothing you can't tell me." Nashimo said.  
  
Mimiru placed her hands on her hips. "Well, do you have any idea what we're trying to figure out here?" He shook his head. "Well then, it sure is! We're trying to figure out where Subaru went to, and it's extremely important business!"  
  
Nashimo looked at us funny. "Subaru? You guys actually KNOW her?"  
  
"Yeah, I don't see what the big deal is..." I said.  
  
"Big deal? Tsu, she was only one of the big, bad cheeses of this whole game, and you don't know what the big deal is?" Nashimo was pretty much flailing his arms around.  
  
Mimiru rolled her eyes. "She's a regular player, just like any of us. Okay, so she was the leader of the Crimson Knights. So?"  
  
"Yeah, I guess I shouldn't make such a big deal out of it." Nashimo laughed. "So, what're we going to do? Possibly a dungeon or something?"  
  
Mimiru and I exchanged glances, dumbfounded. Come to think of it, ever since I came back, we haven't really been doing much except trying to figure out this whole PK case.  
  
"No more dungeons, please..." Mimiru pleaded. "I think I've been doing those stupid things almost all night."  
  
"You've been going alone?" I asked.  
  
"Well, I did one with B.T." Mimiru responded. "But I met up again with that girl, A20, and we decided to do one dungeon, and it lead to another, and another, and repeated the same thing about a million times. We did get a couple of level ups and a ton of items, but right now it's like seeing food when you feel nauseated."  
  
"Hey! You three over there!" A voice called out.  
  
We all turned around to face another player, running up to us. He seemed to be frantic about something.  
  
"Are you guys the ones who always hang around Subaru?" he asked.  
  
Mimiru nodded. "Yeah, why? What's wrong?"  
  
"It's about this PK rumor going around." He answered. "But the thing is, I think I saw it!"  
  
Mimiru and I exchanged glances again, and I'm pretty sure my brother was rather confused.  
  
"Go on." I said.  
  
"Okay, I was on the Theta sever, and in this one field." He started. "There were two players, but for some reason, the other one left before anything happened. Then suddenly, a Heavy Axe came along, and just sliced the poor guy! The way the character disappeared wasn't normal! Not like any character death I've ever seen, or heard about, before."  
  
"A Heavy Axe?" I repeated. He nodded.  
  
"Wait a minute..." Mimiru looked down in thought. "With the description that other kid told us, that PK seemed to fit the bill of a Long Arm, and now he's a Heavy Axe?"  
  
"I think I understand that assumption of that PK being a hacker now..." I added. "But I highly doubt that's the case. Even if it was just a PK-hacker thing, I don't see why his attacks are harming players."  
  
I could tell by the look on his face that Nashimo was lost like a sock under a bed. "Wouldn't the system administrators be best for this situation?"  
  
"Been there, done that." Mimiru moaned. "If anything, they're everything but helpful. Well, thanks for your help."  
  
The player nodded, and went back to his business.  
  
Suddenly, the computer beeped, telling me I had new mail.  
  
"Hey, get your hand off the mouse, I need to check something." I told Nashimo.  
  
Mimiru looked confused. "Huh? How are you two accessing from the same computer?"  
  
"They came out with a new device that allows two people to access on one computer." Nashimo explained. "When I found out that my little sister here plays the game, I figured it would be a great thing to buy!" He put his hand on my head and ruffled my hat.  
  
"Quit calling me your 'little sister'..." I said, pushing his arm off my head. "Just let me check the e-mail, okay?"  
  
I took my headset off, and took control of the mouse. I clicked into my inbox, and sure enough, new mail was sitting there.  
  
"Huh... 'Anonymous', eh?" I thought aloud. Of course, I clicked on the new mail.  
  
'So, I see you've come back to "The World". Good timing.  
  
I want to meet with you. How about the dungeon at the Flaming Hills in the Lamda sever?'  
  
I quickly took hand of the control and put the headset back on.  
  
"...So then she said, 'That's my leg, you moron!'" Mimiru chuckled, as well as Nashimo.  
  
"Well, I'm back." I announced. "Someone wants to meet up with me somewhere..."  
  
Mimiru turned her attention toward me. "Like who?"  
  
I shrugged. "I dunno. It was from anonymous."  
  
Mimiru smirked. "I wonder who would call. Mind if I tag along?"  
  
"Yeah, sure." I said. "Nash, you coming?"  
  
He turned around. "Nah, not this time. I think I'll check out some other things."  
  
"Suit yourself."  
  
We went our separate ways; Mimiru and I to the Chaos Gate, and who knows where Nashimo was going. It was a quick walk to the Chaos Gate, and a quick transmit to the Lamda server as well. From there, we went to the Flaming Hills. The place was a tad creepy if you ask me. It was almost like a desert, but with more cliffs, and the sand was more like hot dirt. The sky was dark, but even so, it felt extremely hot in the area.  
  
"Hoo boy, I don't think they call it the Flaming Hills for nothing." Mimiru commented. "It's almost like we're on top of a volcano."  
  
"No kidding... All it's missing is an avalanche of lava coming after us." I sarcastically added. "Well, we have to find the dungeon now."  
  
"No problem!" Mimiru chimed. "I think it's southwest from here, according to my map. Hopefully we won't run into any monsters."  
  
I began to walk. "All right. Lets go."  
  
Mimiru caught up beside me. We were constantly on the lookout though, making sure we wouldn't accidentally trigger any portals containing monsters. Neither one of us had a Fairy Ocarina so we weren't exactly sure where the portals were. Of course, we didn't have much luck when it came to that...  
  
"Don't worry about your health!" I shouted. "I'll take care of that!"  
  
"Right!"  
  
Mimiru ran straight into a group of three monsters, one of them being rather large. I easily took care of the two smaller monsters with my spells, while Mimiru went slice after slice into the larger, reptile-like monster.  
  
"Tsukasa, I might need a little help with this guy!" Mimiru shouted. "Try paralyzing it or something!"  
  
"I don't have any paralyzing abilities!"  
  
Mimiru kept on slicing at the monster, but it didn't seem to do a whole lot. She seemed to be getting more of the damage than it. My magic skills weren't doing much against it, either, so...  
  
"Lets just make a run for it!" I ordered.  
  
"Run?!" Mimiru screeched, barely dodging an attack. "It'll just chase right after us!"  
  
"The dungeon shouldn't be too far away! Just run!"  
  
Mimiru immediately scrambled to her feet, and we both made a mad dash. As expected, the monster came chasing after us. Mimiru was wailing at the top of her lungs, while I was doing my best to not trip over anything.  
  
"Man, I sure hope you know what we're doing!" Mimiru continued.  
  
The monster behind us sounded pretty pissed by the sound of his roar. Either we started running slower or that thing somehow managed to pick up a Speed Charm on the way, but that sucker was beginning to catch up fast. Suddenly, a huge boulder fell right in front of us, causing me to actually slip on my butt while Mimiru almost spazzed out in a heart attack. The boulder only narrowed our pathway between the cliffs more, which would slow us down if we tried to get through.  
  
"Ah! What should we do?" Mimiru was freaking out. "Darn it, Tsukasa!"  
  
The monster flipped its tail behind itself, holding out its huge club and staring at us with a menacing look.  
  
"Just go behind the boulder! I know there isn't a lot of room and that thing has a better chance of hitting us, but we don't have much of a choice!"  
  
Mimiru held out her sword, switching her eyes between the monster and me.  
  
"Tsukasa, you go through first!" Mimiru demanded. "I have a better chance of defending myself than you do."  
  
Without any second thought, I ran to the little space there was. I tried pushing the stupid thing over, but what am I compared to a huge bulk of rock?  
  
'Hold on just a minute...' I thought. I smacked myself. As quickly as I could, I stood back behind the boulder, holding out my staff.  
  
"Tsukasa!! What're you doing!?"  
  
"Vak Don!" I shouted, triggering my fire magic. A part of the huge rock went into crumbles, allowing the narrow space to grow bigger. "C'mon, Mimiru! It's bigger now!"  
  
Mimiru turned around from her fight and ran, pushing me through the space as we went through. We ran like bats from hell, speeding up to the nearby dungeon. We were almost there! The monster pounded the boulder like it was nothing, and ran as well.  
  
"We're almost there, we're almost there..." Mimiru told herself.  
  
The dungeon was nearby, and luckily enough we made it into the dungeon doors before any more situations like before happened. Even so, we didn't stop running in the dungeon until we were for sure safe.  
  
I collapsed on the floor. "Couldn't have picked a better place to go..."  
  
Mimiru leaned against a small pillar. "I NEVER want to go through that again."  
  
I looked around in the stone room. "Well, I guess we should look for that person."  
  
"There's no need to."  
  
Mimiru and I looked in the direction of the voice. From the door to the next room, some one came through. Of course, I would have never expected it to be her...  
  
"Helba?" Mimiru gasped.  
  
She smiled. "So, you brought a friend along too. I'm glad you could make it, Tsukasa, because I have some important information for you."  
  
"Information...?" I asked.  
  
"It better be good!" Mimiru griped. "We've been chased all the way here by an extremely strong monster, and almost got ourselves killed!"  
  
Helba lowered her staff and made a bowing position. "Oh, I'm sure it will. It has to deal with this PK you guys seem to be after..."  
  
----------------------  
  
Wow, this only took me a day to write. (Compared to the usual... week.) Tell me what you think :D  
  
Word of advice: Don't try to outrun monsters on the field n.n; I tried to do that once, and I just ended up triggering two other portals running away... Which kinda led to a nice mob of monsters after me ToT Luckily I made it to the dungeon before I got too badly damaged... XP 


	7. Author Note Yay

CROSSING BE-Eh... wait... I mean AUTHOR'S NOTE  
  
Wow, you're probably wondering why I haven't updated in like... three weeks? Well, since I actually managed to sneak on, I'm here to tell you that I'm grounded for a while. -_-; Which means I might not get to add the next chapter for a while. Why not upload it now? It's not done...  
  
So, uh, sorry to keep y'all waiting.  
  
In return, lollipops with tootsie roll centers for everyone. =D  
  
Again, sorry! ^_^; Ciao. 


	8. Insert Stupid Chapter Title Here

Crossing Between Reality CHAPTER 7  
  
A/N: OMG, I feel like the biggest idiot right now! I just remembered that in the episode Bear's son appears in, he's a Wavemaster... XD; BWAHAHAH! Lets pretend he got tired of his old character and made a new one... ^_^;;; I'm still grounded, but I'm sneaking this on. Yay for breaking the rules! And one more thing before this gets too long; Well, I decided that it was finally time to give Tsu-chan a real name... So I've done that. Yay for making up names!  
  
I'm too lazy to replace the Author Note with this, so I'm going to screw up the chapter system and... stuff. Yay for screwing up chapters!  
  
------------------------------  
  
There was silence for what seemed for a long while. It was a little hard to see, since it was dark, but even so I could still see the smile featured on Helba's face. It was as if she was waiting for one of us to speak up instead of her. Eerie voices of the wind slightly blew, causing Helba's long, blonde hair to flow behind her. The white robes that hung from her arms picked up in the wind, and fell limp immediately once the blowing had died down.  
  
"So, how 'useful' would this information be?" Mimiru questioned, having a cold tone to her voice. "Because if it's just another eyewitness event, it's not going to help a whole lot!"  
  
"I suppose it depends on what information you've already acquired." Helba stated confidently. "I could like to start off by saying... Tsukasa, keep an extremely sharp eye on Aura."  
  
"A-Aura?" I asked. "What does she have to..."  
  
"A lot." Helba finished. "Do you so happen to still have that e-mail that looked as if it got corrupted in the system?"  
  
How she knew about that I probably wouldn't be able to figure out, but right now wasn't the time to ask such questions. I simply nodded.  
  
"That was from Aura. Shall we call it, a cry of help from a side to her that has yet to awaken? Yes, that would be it. She may be data within a game, but she is indeed a little girl. She is still growing, Tsukasa, but because of her undetermined destiny, there are still those who are after her."  
  
A feeling of shock and confusion rushed through me. A cry of help from... Aura? Why would she need me? A side to her that has yet to awaken? About a hundred questions swished around in my head, but again I thought this wasn't the time to ask them.  
  
"But I got the same e-mail too!" Mimiru reminded. "What do I have to do with all this?"  
  
"Subaru would've probably received one too, that is, if she wasn't..." Helba trailed off, hinting Subaru's condition.  
  
"Even so," I started. "I don't see how this has to do with the PK."  
  
"Oh, it has a lot. If you want to prevent these events from happening again, then you have to help Aura." Helba explained. "Somehow, a virus was put into connection of her, and with the abilities she holds within, the virus is triggered."  
  
Both Mimiru's and my eyes shot wide open.  
  
"A... a virus?" Mimiru stammered.  
  
Helba nodded. "The virus mostly infects old data, mostly from the many versions of Net Slum, where old and unused data is plentiful. This 'PK' isn't just one character or a hacker going around and killing players, but instead, is several spawns of the virus. It does this with the aid of Aura's power, but she doesn't even know of these happenings."  
  
"Well, I can understand why this 'hidden side' to Aura sent Tsukasa an e- mail, but..." Mimiru paused, leering over at me. "I still don't see what role I play."  
  
'I don't even know why I'M the one being called on!' I thought.  
  
"This situation isn't really a matter of who does help her, but you two know more about the events in the past better than anyone I can get in touch with." Helba continued. "Considering both of you got the message from Aura, there has to be something you can accomplish what others cannot."  
  
Mimiru and I glanced over at each other, and then again at Helba, completely speechless.  
  
"Hold on..." I started. "What about Sora? He's not old or deleted data, so why would he be able to harm anyone like he did to Subaru?"  
  
Even though her eyes were covered, I could tell she was struck back by my question.  
  
"It was Sora who PK-ed Subaru? Well now... I could assume this virus is infecting normal characters as well."  
  
"Infecting characters?!" Mimiru cried. "But... That... How?"  
  
"I can only guess right now, but with Aura at the source of its power, anything is possible." Helba said.  
  
There was another pause. It was disturbingly quiet, and I was beginning to feel a little paranoid. Everything Helba just said was completely unexpected, thrown at us like one of those "Think fast!" games. Nothing like this has ever happened in the game.  
  
"Who would create such a virus, and how would they know about Aura?" I thought aloud.  
  
Mimiru looked up in thought. "Maybe... I don't know, but probably a small bug in the system went haywire, and grew into something bigger. A little bug in the game doesn't need to know about Aura in order to infect her..."  
  
"That is a good assumption, but that is just one of the many possibilities. Right now I am not sure who or what did this, and why." Helba said.  
  
I picked myself up from the floor as Helba slowly walked up to me. Looking at her face to face, she didn't look like the type of person I'd want to be with all the time.  
  
"I'm glad that I could be of some sort of assistance, Tsukasa." Helba grinned once more. "What I told you, though, is all I know. I apologize for that."  
  
Mimiru stood up from her post by the pillar, walking up beside me, with an accusing look on her. "How do we know that we can trust you?"  
  
"Well, I've helped you before, haven't I?"  
  
Mimiru lifted an eyebrow, but lowered her head and sighed. "All right, if you say so..."  
  
Helba bowed again. "I bid you farewell." Then she transmitted out of the dungeon, leaving no traces of ever being here.  
  
Mimiru crossed her arms, facing up at an angle. She bore a smile, standing at a pose that would make you think she had done something good for the world. The armor on her leg clanged together as she tapped her right foot up and down on the floor, echoing into the empty rooms. "All right, Tsukasa, we got exactly what we need! We can go off and save Aura now!"  
  
"We have to do this later." I stated.  
  
"Huh - why?" Mimiru blurted.  
  
"Well, for one thing... I don't know if I should be on at all." I added. "Maybe it'll be better if we have the others around. We can explain it to them... and maybe they'll know what to do."  
  
Mimiru moved her arms around a lot as she spoke, "But Tsukasa! Who knows how fast this virus will spread! We have to go out and save her before anybody else gets harmed! If this keeps up, it'll get to the point where we can't even play 'The World' anymore! We have to hurry -"  
  
"What are we supposed to do right now?!" I yelled, interrupting her. "We can't just pop and say, 'Hey Aura! Guess what. You're infected with a virus!' and all will be okay!"  
  
Mimiru mixed in a groan with a sigh. "You're right. If Bear and B.T. know about this, they ought to come up with a better idea than... none."  
  
"Right. The virus won't spread THAT quickly within a few hours... hopefully." I said. "But like I said, I'm not even supposed to be on, so..."  
  
Mimiru laughed. "Right! So, I guess you'll be logging off now."  
  
I nodded. "Explain everything to B.T., if you can. I'll tell dad as soon as he gets home."  
  
Without waiting for a reply, I transmitted out of the dungeon and right into the Root Town in Lamda. Luckily I still had my abilities given to me in the past, because I certainly did NOT want to go back out into that field. So, I logged out, took off my headset, and realized Nashimo was no longer next to me.  
  
Funny, I completely forgot he was there at all. I didn't even notice he left. "Hey, Nashimo!" I called out.  
  
He poked his head in through the doorway. "Oh, now you notice me."  
  
"What's THAT supposed to mean?"  
  
"Well, you didn't answer me before when I called you." He said. "I figured you were busy fighting some sort of boss monster or something."  
  
I stared at him, confused. When did he call out to me? First dad, when I was in Aura's domain, and now this... Is it just me, or was something going wrong?  
  
"Dad's not home yet, is he?" I asked.  
  
"Nope." Nashimo replied. "Don't tell me it takes THIS long just to get some food."  
  
"Sometimes... Well, it is a Saturday." I responded.  
  
* * *  
  
Well, dad came home about thirty minutes later, more or less. I told Nashimo not to say anything about me getting on, despite of the fact I'd have to explain why I just so happened to get information from Helba. So of course, dinner was being made, food was being eaten, fun was being had, and all was good. But every minute, my mind just wasn't off what I wanted to say. Of course, when to say it and how to start it out was one problem. Hi dad, guess what, just found out that Aura's in deep crap and lots of other things about a virus, information kudos to Helba. Wanna help out? Uh, no.  
  
So of course, I decided to pick a time where we were just hanging out: TV time.  
  
For some odd reason, we were probably watching the stupidest thing that probably was ever thought of. I could tell by dad and Nashimo's face expressions that they were thinking just the same. But I guess it's better than talk shows...  
  
"Well, I guess this stuff is better than Kaori's old American movies from about fifty years ago." Nashimo sarcastically said.  
  
I leered in his direction. "...I just so happen to LIKE those movies..."  
  
Nashimo gave a slight chuckle. "Just kiddin', you know that."  
  
Kaori... I never really was fond of that name. My real father always said it in such a disliking tone. My mother, though... Her nickname for me when I was little was 'Tsukasa', or at least a pet name. That name came from a character I adored from a childhood bedtime story, and I would pretend to be the hero of the day before my bedtime.  
  
"Mommy, don't worry! I'll save you!" I'd chant as I stood on my bed, holding up my hand as if I wielded a mystical weapon. Balance would escape me as I stumbled over my huge blankets and into my mother's arms. Then she would chuckle, hugging me tightly. "Okay, my little 'Tsukasa'. But your rescue must wait, because our hero needs to go to bed."  
  
She'd tuck me in my covers, and "little Tsukasa" would fall asleep shortly. I always considered that name as a treasure from my mother. But, my father would never call me that. Just Kaori. Then my mother passed away, and my imaginary quests were just memories of the past.  
  
I don't even remember what story this character came from.  
  
I shifted nervously on the couch. "Dad?"  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"I - err... kind of got an e-mail from Helba, and... well..." I trailed off, waiting for some sort of response.  
  
"Helba?" Dad questioned. "I thought -"  
  
"I know, I know!" I interrupted. "But this is really important! Mimiru - she was there with me. We might have finally figured out what exactly is going on!"  
  
Dad gave a look, wanting me to continue on. I went off in an explanation, rambling on and on the best I could without missing a thing. While dad was pretty surprised at pretty much everything, Nashimo was getting more lost by the minute. Probably pondering on things like, "Who's Aura and Helba?", "What the heck is Net Slum?", "Virus attacking characters?", then probably wondering what the heck Subaru's doing at that Aura character's place.  
  
"I told Mimiru to explain what she could to B.T. as well, so next time we all meet we'll all know what's going on." I finished.  
  
Dad just simply looked off in thought. Just by looking in his eyes, I could tell his mind was racing.  
  
"Tomorrow I'll set up a meeting time for us." He stated. "I think I might have an idea..."  
  
* * *  
  
It was about one o'clock in the morning, and I was in the middle of watching one of my "old American movies from fifty years ago". The old VCR made whirring noises as if it were going to break down at any given moment... Which I hope it doesn't. Nashimo walked out of dad's room, and coming in like he didn't expect me to notice, sat next to me on the floor.  
  
Nashimo nudged me. "I'm surprised you could still find these. Nobody buys video tapes anymore, and besides, you'd think kids would want to watch all the newer stuff."  
  
"These tapes were my mom's, and she got them while they were the 'new stuff'." I shot a sleepy smirk at him.  
  
He began to watch the TV beside me, only seeming to be half-interested. "You know Kaori, I'd like to know more about your mom. Like I said before, you hardly ever talk about her."  
  
Though I was still facing the screen, my mind completely went off it, not paying attention to a thing that was happening. "My mom?" I took my eyes off the screen and faced Nashimo. "I was only six when she passed away... I don't know how much I could tell you."  
  
"Well, what was your family like?" He requested.  
  
"I've never told anybody this, but, I guess." I paused, collecting my thoughts together. The TV was now only mere voices in the background as I talked. "You probably could've called us an ordinary family; a dad, a mom, and their kid. While my mom was rather delicate and caring, my dad was more of the serious type. He was fun to hang out with, I guess, but took life a whole lot more seriously. Then my mom got really sick one day. I have no idea what disease it was, since my dad refused to tell me what because of how young I was, but one thing's for sure, it was pretty bad. While she was sick, dad got more and more stressed out as time went by. Being the little kid I was, I thought, 'Hey, it's no problem, she's going to get better soon.' But then it just hit me... Why was he getting so upset if everything will turn out for the better?"  
  
I stopped for a moment, looking up from the floor at Nashimo. While he had that twinkle of sympathy in his eye, he looked rather interested in my story. "Obviously... he knew she was going to die eventually. Then one day, she did. I remember being extremely torn apart by her death. I skipped school until my dad forced me to go back, and I didn't even bother talking to anybody. Going to bed was even the worst for me; when she was usually there to tell me stories and tuck me in, nobody was there. I could only pretend she was there. After that, my dad got so aggressive. I hated it to no end. Any flaw in me, any wrong thing I had done... I'd be yelled at, hit, smacked, anything for him to take out his regret. He was just as mad and upset about it all as I was, but it probably drove him completely up the wall, for him to do what he... what he did..."  
  
I turned away and began facing the floor again, tightly hugging my legs together. I didn't know what else to say after that.  
  
Nashimo placed his hand on my shoulder. "I'm sorry, maybe I shouldn't of asked."  
  
"No, no." I quickly replied. "Maybe it's... for the better. Like I said, I've never told anyone before." "You look tired though." Nashimo stood up, walking around the table to get to the sofa. "Maybe you should get some sleep."  
  
I forced though a small smile. "Yeah, maybe I should."  
  
* * *  
  
Both Nashimo and I were leaning over dad's shoulder, staring down at the small laptop screen before us.  
  
"All right, it's confirmed." Dad announced. "Mimiru and B.T. said they'd be waiting for us in Dun Loireag."  
  
"Okay!" I responded. I grabbed Nashimo's hand and pulled him along. "You're commin' too!"  
  
"Huh-what?"  
  
"Hey, we might need you!"  
  
"Oh, fine."  
  
While dad set up the internet on his laptop and logged into "The World" though there, Nashimo and I used his nifty little device to log on. Through the headset, I could see myself appear into the city-like town in Lamda again.  
  
"Great, I always forget you appear where you last logged off." I muttered.  
  
Not like it mattered, anyway, so without taking a step away from the Chaos Gate I went strait to Dun Loireag instead of looking for anybody. Mimiru, B.T., and dad - or Bear, I should say - were talking a distance away from the Chaos Gate. I only took a few steps before Nashimo appeared behind me.  
  
"Well, looks like we started off in different places, huh?" Nashimo said.  
  
I nodded without turning my head, then started walking.  
  
"Hey, I don't even get a 'hello'?"  
  
I rolled my eyes, then turned to him. "You're sitting right beside me, what's there to 'hello' about?"  
  
Nashimo made a silly grin. "You make your voice so cold in this game!"  
  
"Really now?" I laughed. "Well, no matter. Everyone is right over there."  
  
So we walked the short distance to where they were, and what do you know, we started to converse.  
  
B.T. looked up to me. "So, you're saying Subaru's in Aura's realm?"  
  
I nodded. "Yeah... At least, that's where I last saw her. I don't know if she'd still be there. But I highly doubt she's gone anywhere else; she was completely unconscious whenever I was there."  
  
Mimiru held a tight grin. "All right, lets get going!"  
  
"Well, Tsukasa's going to have to bring us." Dad mentioned. "You're the only one who knows where it is, and it's likely this place doesn't have keywords that we could just use."  
  
Nashimo looked between dad and I several times. "No keywords? What kind of place IS this?"  
  
B.T. sighed and crossed her arms. "A rather mysterious one. These sort of things completely defy the game, but we're lucky enough to have access to them."  
  
"Have you ever been there before?" Nashimo asked.  
  
"Tsukasa is the only one who can get there, and the only one who can bring us there." Mimiru answered. "But to answer your question, no, none of US have been there."  
  
I lowered my view to the ground. Yeah, only because Maha taught me how... When I thought about it, I missed Maha a lot. The mystical cat that would magically appear to me, to help and protect me, and even sacrificed herself... To protect my friends and me.  
  
"Hello-oo-oo?" Mimiru snapped her fingers right in front of my face.  
  
I blinked quickly out of thought. "Oh - sorry."  
  
Mimiru stood an impatient stance, tapping her feet on the ground. "You going to bring us or what?"  
  
Without saying any replies, I quickly began to concentrate my power. I guess you could say bringing someone along wasn't the same as just both of you transporting to a field. Like mentioned, this place isn't accessible to anybody; and I doubt I'm even supposed to be able to go to Aura's realm without any 'special help'. All I had to do was do the same thing when I brought Subaru. As I did so, everybody began to transmit one by one until we all made it. Everyone looked around in awe as we grouped around the same broken down bed.  
  
The sky seemed to be swarmed with mixtures of blues and purples, making the trees look like a sea. There was no moon or sun this time, just an endless sky with tons of swirling clouds, tattered with the stars.  
  
"Eerie..." I heard Mimiru whisper.  
  
Nashimo walked over to the bed and knocked on it with his spear. "Heh, I think this bed has seen better days."  
  
"This isn't any time to joke around." B.T. coolly said.  
  
We weren't there for ten seconds longer before everything started to go completely nuts. Everything looked like it was glitching up and turning into about every color in existence, swirling and spinning. For a moment I thought it was my computer crashing on me, but when I heard Mimiru yelling and everybody else freaking out, I knew it meant something. Something not good, that is.  
  
"Ever-ne get ou- now!" Dad shouted. Apparently all the static and screwing up was blocking out part of our speech.  
  
B.T. and Nashimo transported out quicker than ever.  
  
"Y- two, log o-, -rry!" He demanded.  
  
"But-" I started, but he already transmitted out.  
  
"Tsukasa, I c-'t ev- move!" Mimiru cried.  
  
The thing was, I couldn't get out either.  
  
The continuous fuzzy noises were extremely loud and stinging my ears. I could guess the same for Mimiru too, considering she cries that almost matched up with the buzzing.  
  
Then the glitching stopped, and the scenery no longer looked like I was tripping out. I dropped my staff and fell to my knees, feeling oddly exhausted. Mimiru drew her sword as fast as she could to support herself as she fell to the ground, but success was far when her face connected with the grass.  
  
"Mimiru?" I gasped.  
  
No reply.  
  
"M-Mimiru!" I stumbled to her side, shaking her shoulder. "Are you okay?"  
  
She groaned, barely pushing herself off the ground. "Geez, what was that? I feel completely worn out..."  
  
"What? YOU feel worn out?" I bit my lip, and suddenly felt like there were butterflies in my stomach.  
  
Mimiru picked herself up, sitting on the ground. Her mouth slightly opened to say something, but her eyes got wide and she brushed her hand on the grass.  
  
"Mimiru?"  
  
"Tsukasa..." Mimiru began with a quiver in her voice. "I don't think I can log out..."  
  
I realized that I couldn't either, which could add up to something that REALLY wasn't good.  
  
"Dammit!" I cursed. "Well, this is no time to worry about that. We have to get to Subaru!"  
  
I pulled Mimiru up, and she followed as I lead us into the forest.  
  
"It should be this way." I thought aloud.  
  
The journey seemed to be a lot faster than when I was with Aura, but we made it nonetheless. Subaru was still asleep in the same position, propped up against a large tree. In the blue darkness, I could tell that Mimiru was surprised. Her eyebrows were angled up and her teeth her slightly grit. Aura was asleep beside Subaru, still hugging the same ripped up teddy bear. If I were my brother, I probably would've mentioned something stupid like Aura sleeping too much or that teddy bear getting in a fight with scissors and lost, but now wasn't the appropriate time. Subaru's short, blue hair and Aura's long, albino hair danced along with the wind as it gently blew by.  
  
"Don't tell me," Mimiru choked on her words. "that Subaru's stuck in the game too."  
  
"Too?" I asked, even if I was aware of it's meaning.  
  
"I-I can't even do a reset! It's like I have no control over myself!" She cried. "I can't even feel my hands on the controller anymore!"  
  
Staring down at my own hand, I realized that this wasn't anything good. While I was used to losing all control of myself, it didn't happen to Mimiru - or anybody for that matter.  
  
"Please, Tsukasa, don't tell me that we're..." Mimiru stopped, not wanting to say what's next.  
  
Yet, here I am, in a situation that kept me from playing "The World" for so long. I could remember that when I first started this game, I would never imagine that I - of all people - would get stuck in a game. Then when I did, I was surprised at first, but eventually I didn't care. I never want to go through what I did before. I grabbed my staff and began digging it into the ground, hoping in frustration that this wasn't happening.  
  
'Mimiru has to be confused with everything going on, it's not possible!' I kept telling myself. 'This is all just...'  
  
"Mimiru, I'm afraid it might be true..." I said. "I don't have any idea how, but..."  
  
"But I - I don't want to be stuck in this game!" She yelped, shaking her head back and forth.  
  
-----------------------------------  
  
Wahoo, I'm actually getting somewhere in this story ^_^ Go me. Well, I have no idea when the next chapter will be coming out; Sorry about that! Being grounded sucks! ::pout::  
  
Anyway! But remember kids: Watch the road for crossing Puchigusos. Being trampled by them isn't fun at all =P 


	9. Now for another one

Oh NO! It's another one...!  
  
Yeah, I think I've been putting up too many author notes for my own good -_-  
  
Anyway, I'm now ungrounded, but a little too late I assume. I'm going to Puerto Rico (again! ARGH! _), But my dad's not going to be there much (and neither is the laptop), so I don't know how much of the story I can get up. Because writer's block just LOVES to hit me at just the wrong moments, I don't have much of a chapter; otherwise I wouldn't be typing this.  
  
On another note, I'm REALLY happy that you guys like this story so much ^_^ I mean, whoa, 60 reviews... That's a lot from what I've ever gotten... Sorry to leave y'all hanging like this. (Yeah, I'm hoping to get this thing done sometime this year...)  
  
But I promise to get something out this summer. If I don't, feel free to chase me down with pitchforks and rocks.  
  
Well, I don't have anything else to say. Write whatever you want in the review thingy if you feel the need to.  
  
--Rabid Pink Bunny 


	10. The Battle Has Begun

CROSSING BETWEEN REALITY  
  
Chapter 8  
  
I don't really have much to say, except what I've said about a million times... Thanks for all your reviews and for reading this story ^_^ A little note: I'm going to be redoing the first couple of chapters, because admit it - they're crap. As I've gone on, a few things in the past need to be changed, and I've made plenty of mistakes... So check back often for re- done chapters. Sorry for like, taking a million years to get this updated. I've been busy/lazy lately, and I'm writing this in the middle of a writer's block -_-; That's all.  
  
Little Note Thang: If someone can help me with making the font bold/italic in this thing, PLEASE DO... HTML isn't working for me... ;_;  
  
--------------------------  
  
I looked over at Aura. Her seemingly fragile eyes slowly opened.  
  
"Aura?"  
  
Her direction of sight quickly shot to me, but even so, there was a slight change to her. Her eyes no longer held the mysterious amethyst they once had, but instead contain a soothing sky blue. For a moment, her eyes seemed to calm the moment, but Mimiru's fidgeting in the bushes gave away the reality check. Even if Helba did mention that Aura seemed to be 'growing', it never occurred to me that she would change in her appearance so much.  
  
"Oh no!" Aura jumped to her knees quickly, leaving the teddy bear to slide off her chest and on the ground. "I-I'm sorry."  
  
"From what?" I asked.  
  
"I was supposed to look after this girl - to protect her - wasn't I?"  
  
"Protect...?" Mimiru repeated, a small but noticeable quiver in her voice.  
  
I bent over to Subaru's side, gently putting my hand on top of hers. She felt cold, and yet, warm at the same time. Aura then placed her hand on top of mine. But her hand almost felt like... like it wasn't there. Slight signs of warmth were there, but they would come and go. The feeling almost scared me.  
  
"Aura, what's that on your hand?" I asked, noticing a small, purple blotch on it.  
  
Her eyes moved down on her hand. "This? I... I don't know. It's been there for a while..."  
  
I raised my eyebrow, a little concerned about the unusual blotch. "A while? Do you have any idea what it is?"  
  
She shook her head.  
  
I turned around to Mimiru, who looked back with a slight interest. She looked away, facing the trees to the left, digging her foot into the ground. After a moment, only her eyes looked back at me, but she quickly looked away. Sighing, she looked back. "Okay, what?"  
  
"Mimiru, come here. I think I might've found it."  
  
"Found it? Found WHAT?"  
  
"You know, you're not helping anything by doing that!"  
  
Mimiru made a small stomp on the ground. "I know, Tsukasa! But now what? Huh?"  
  
"We have to find a way to wake up Subaru." I reminded.  
  
"Subaru..." Aura whispered. "Can you... Do you know how to wake her up?"  
  
I looked down upon the silent Heavy Axe. Her breathing was so faint; it surprised me she looked as if she were breathing at all. Mimiru leaned down beside her as well, peering down on Subaru's delicate features.  
  
Mimiru quietly released a sigh, trying to relax herself. "Maybe it's just like what Helba said. There has to be a reason why only us three are stuck here, and why all the weird glitching went on until Bear, B.T. and your brother left." I glanced at Mimiru. How could I forget what Helba explained? "Maybe there is something that we can do, but..." She trailed off. "We can't do it without Subaru."  
  
Aura sat quietly, listening to Mimiru. She looked close to expressionless, and it was very hard to tell what she was thinking. Was she just as lost as Mimiru and I, or was she afraid to speak up of what she knew? Aura grabbed the teddy bear beside her and hugged it tightly. Though, she always looked sad when she held it close like that. It really bothered me to know that this girl, as precious and vital that she is to "The World", is held within this virus.  
  
"Mimiru," I whispered, trying not to catch Aura's attention. "How do we wake her up?"  
  
"Wha? Okay, seriously, Tsukasa!" She spat. "What makes you think I'd have an idea?"  
  
Aura again placed her small hand on top of Subaru's, slowly closing her eyes. The grip on her teddy bear grew tighter, and as she did, she spoke loud enough just for us to barely hear. "I want to help this girl... I don't know how, but I only wish to help her."  
  
A strange feeling surged through me as Aura spoke. I wasn't too sure what it was or why I felt it, but it was a disturbingly calm feeling.  
  
"T-Tsukasa! Look!" Mimiru squealed.  
  
My eyes got a little wider as I looked down at Subaru. "She's..."  
  
Aura looked as surprised as we did, looking down at Subaru squirm just a little.  
  
"You did it... You really did it!" Mimiru congratulated Aura.  
  
She grabbed her hand back surprisingly, staring at Mimiru as if she accused her of being a witch. Subaru lifted her head just a little, and Aura jumped back a little bit.  
  
"H-How did I do that?"  
  
I smiled, whispering to myself, "A side to her that is yet to awaken."  
  
Subaru lifted herself upright, looking at us one by one, completely stunned. "Huh? What happened...? What am I doing here?"  
  
Mimiru crossed her arms with a gruff expression. "Apparently after that stupid Sora - err, yeah, Sora... Anyway, after he PK-ed you and a bunch of other stuff, we all got stuck here. We can't log out."  
  
Subaru's face crossed confusingly. "Can't log out? How long have I been here for?"  
  
"A couple of days." I answered. "Mimiru and I just got stuck here a couple of minute ago."  
  
"Ooh, Tsukasa, don't say it like it's no big deal!" Mimiru growled.  
  
Subaru was speechless after that, only answering with a rather shocked look.  
  
Aura crawled up next to Subaru. "A-Are you sure you're okay...?"  
  
"I... suppose so." Subaru said, unsure. "I would like to know what's going on, though."  
  
Taking the honors before Mimiru could sputter a word, I explained all that was needed to know. Time to time, Mimiru would either nod or spill in her two cents. Subaru sat and listened to every word carefully, while Aura looked in with extreme interest.  
  
"So, if that wasn't the real Sora, just a virus infected one, then..." Subaru looked up at us all, then back down. "That virus just can't be infecting characters like that, but is infecting characters as it attacks them. Then it's possible that those characters attack others, and it's just one big chain! So it is possible that those characters aren't being deleted in the first place, but are being terminated in the character category because they're now a virus."  
  
Mimiru shook her head, disagreeing with anything for the first time. "That can't be it. Otherwise, you'd be a virus now, too." She lifted her eyebrow and smiled playfully. "Or am I really speaking to a virus?"  
  
"I wonder what happens to the player in the real world though..." I thought aloud. "Is the player just unable to log back into their account, or do the rumors about the harmed players really happen?"  
  
Aura shuffled against Subaru uncomfortably, looking off into the distance several times. I wasn't too sure if she was worried, bored, or even uncomfortable about the conversation, but nothing in me bothered to ask.  
  
Mimiru stood up and dusted herself off. "Say, maybe we should go back to Dun Loireag and tell the others we're okay...?"  
  
Aura made a small but noticeable gasp, suddenly loosing her grip on the teddy bear. "Something's wrong... I can feel it, but I don't know what it could be..."  
  
A disturbing snicker, all too familiar, came from the forest. "You're in a bit of a pickle, aren't you?" Sora, of all people, walked in rather casually, stroking his long bangs with two fingers. Somehow I was more worried about how he got here other than the fact of why or even his presence itself.  
  
"Sora! How dare you!" Mimiru grabbed her sword and swung it over her, facing the tip to him. Sora didn't move as much as a flinch.  
  
"Mimiru, don't!" I shouted. "Remember what Helba said? That can't be Sora, it has to be the virus!"  
  
"Enough talk." Sora ordered. "I'm here for the girl, Aura."  
  
Being the closest to her at the moment, I grabbed my staff and made an attempt to shield Aura with it. Subaru jumped back a little, eyeing between all of us as if she didn't know what to do. "I don't know what you want to do with her, but I'm not going to let you. I've looked after her in the past, and over time, I've realized how important she is. Even if it isn't my job to look after her, or if this was meant to happen, I won't let it!"  
  
Subaru stood up, grabbing her axe from the ground. She stood in front of Aura and me, but she made no defensive stance what so ever. "I'm not going to run away this time. If I must, I will fight you."  
  
Despite our actions, Sora didn't look the least bit phased. As he took a step forward, Mimiru took one back. Sora lifted his right hand to his face, releasing the katar within it as if it were a threat. "Enough talk, I said! Give me Aura, or I'll do far worse to you all than I did to that blue- haired beauty over there." Subaru scowled at her name reference.  
  
Aura crawled behind me and barely poked her small face over my shoulders, having a firm grip on my robes. I figured she had no idea what was going on.  
  
"I-I'm scared, Tsukasa." She cried softy. "Don't let him get me..."  
  
"Don't worry, he won't." I whispered.  
  
"Yeah? Well over my dead body!" Mimiru sounded more enraged than ever, pulling all her strength together to charge at Sora. It came to me that Mimiru must've done some obvious leveling up, because I had never seen her move so swift and fast. Sora was pretty close to having a lost arm, but her managed to dodge her attack quickly enough. Mimiru tried again, spinning around and aiming towards his waist. Even though she managed to get a hit though, he took no noticeable damage. I saw the confused look on Mimiru's face, but she continued the small spar. "Take Aura and get out of here! I can hold him off!" Sora then drew a blow to Mimiru's stomach, causing her to stumble back a little, but she quickly went back into combat.  
  
"But Mimiru-"  
  
"I don't care!!" Mimiru yelled, trying not to hold back. "You hear me? Get your rear end in gear and GO!"  
  
I grabbed Aura in my arms, but was hesitant to go because of Mimiru. Of course though, she was going to be stubborn, even at a time like this.  
  
Subaru took a few steps, but then stopped. "Tsukasa, where are we supposed to go? It wouldn't be safe to bring Aura into one of the Root Towns."  
  
"Well then," I started. "we're just going to have to hope that Sora gets tired of chasing us."  
  
"You're insane." Subaru muttered, shaking her head. "We can't outrun him, especially if he's a virus."  
  
"Well, I'd like to hear any brilliant ideas you might have right now."  
  
"Now with that inspirational motivating speech." Subaru began pushing her way through the bushes and low-branch trees once more. Okay, so we weren't exactly running away, since carrying a scared little girl in your arms while walking through a deeply flourished forest was proven not to be an easy task. After what seemed to be a while, which was actually only a few minutes, we stepped in a tiny clearing in the night-filled forest. I sat Aura down in the tall grass and Subaru sat down close to her.  
  
"Tsukasa, what's wrong?" Subaru asked.  
  
I looked away from the trees and down at her. "Mimiru... How can you fight against a virus?"  
  
"She should be okay." Subaru replied. "She has a strong spirit."  
  
"Though... I'm hoping she's not planning on being able to kill him." I added. "Is it even possible to kill a virus with just a character in a game?"  
  
"Well..." Subaru looked down, brushing her graceful blue hair away from her eyes. "When we ran into each other a while back, Lord Balmung was telling me about a new problem that's occurring in 'The World'. He didn't get into too much detail about it, but I know it had to do with a virus. Something about immortal monsters that are impossible to beat with any regular character; the only way to beat them, he told me, was to re-write their data somehow. I think he called them 'Data Bugs'. Maybe... Just maybe, that this virus is not only infecting those monsters, but starting to infect characters too, and got a hold of Sora's character."  
  
"But still, what about the player in the real world?"  
  
Subaru nodded. "Good point. There have been a few cases in the news about people falling comatose, and at the time they did, they were all playing this game. It's been a big debate on whether it's this game or not that's causing it. If it was, it could be anything though. This virus, maybe flashing lights that effect something in the brain, maybe even something similar to your case."  
  
I was almost surprised by the sudden news, and somehow, I thought, 'Go figure.' I'm not one to watch the news a whole lot, so I wouldn't know what's going on.  
  
So... It's a virus that infects both monsters and characters?  
  
Aura leaned over on Subaru and grabbed her arm. She looked into the forest as well. "Is that player going to get me...?"  
  
Subaru smiled at Aura, trying to enlighten the moment and make her feel at ease. "No, don't worry, we're here." Subaru looked down, holding her hands together tightly. She fidgeted around her fingers nervously. "Mimiru, she's..."  
  
"Taking a long time." I finished.  
  
Subaru scowled. "No. Leaving her back there wasn't a good idea."  
  
The young AI that sat beside us made a small gasp, quickly searching her parameters. She frantically crawled around a couple of feet, moving around in the tall grass. "My teddy..." She whimpered over her cotton-stuffed companion. "I left him behind."  
  
Subaru barely opened her mouth, saying nothing more than "It-" before suddenly, Aura's bear was thrown in front of us. It was nothing more than ripped remains. White specks of the cotton fluttered along in the air, getting caught in whatever it touched. Aura's eyes glimmered as tears began forming. Her delicate fingers brushed over the toy.  
  
"You wanted it back." A mocking voice called.  
  
Subaru swiftly took her axe from the ground. "Sora, you... no. A virus like you doesn't deserve to be called by a player's name."  
  
The Twin Blade's figure came closer, waving around his weapon in a playful way. The Sora standing before us was just a virus, but why did he have to act like him too? "I spared your friend's life, only because I don't have time for all these distractions." A sign of relief went through both of us knowing Mimiru was okay. "But I don't do the same for you if you don't hand me the girl."  
  
Aura once again raced behind me, clutching on to me tightly. Subaru stood in front of us, staring down Sora.  
  
"Don't tell me you're going to fight!" I whispered hoarsely.  
  
"Do we have any other choice?" Subaru's hair fluttered gracefully around her face as she looked at me and back to Sora quickly. "You know as well as I do that Wavemasters are not of hand-to-hand combat material. Your magic probably wouldn't do much. So, if you tried to fight Sora, you wouldn't stand a chance."  
  
Okay, so I did take that a little personally, but Subaru was right.  
  
"So, you want to fight too?" Sora made a menacing grin; the kind that freezes you in your tracks and makes you think oh crap. He put one hand to his hip and began observing the katar on his other. "I guess you're just going to be as stubborn as that Heavyblade back there."  
  
He turned his eyes towards Subaru, and then suddenly jumped forward for a quick strike. Subaru jerked her head back quickly, loosing nothing more than a few hair strands. Subaru made an attempt to swing at his shoulder with her axe, but he blocked. She swung again and he blocked again. It was almost a game of swing-block-and-dodge now. Even so, for someone I've never seen in combat before, Subaru must've done some leveling up herself. Subaru finally made a strike, but like Mimiru's attempt, it made no noticeable damage. When she tried to make another shot, Sora took advantage of her vulnerable state, swinging and stopping only centimeters away from her chest. Subaru paused, and then slowly lowered her axe, standing perfectly still.  
  
"Now, do I have to kill you, or will you be kind enough to-"  
  
"No." Subaru ordered.  
  
Sora scowled, making an unexpected slice. Not enough to kill her, but enough for a ripped outfit and leaving her down for the count. Sora snickered over this victory, cocking his head towards me. "It's your turn... Tsukasa."  
  
"What do you want Aura for?!" I shouted in a demanding tone. Aura shivered behind me.  
  
"Oh, don't you know?" Sora pointed to Aura. "That girl is connected to a virus, and will soon become it. I am here for Aura and I will kill anyone who gets in my way. Even if it means harming them in your little reality world."  
  
I took my staff in both hands, defending Aura and myself.  
  
Sora laughed. "Such a low leveled staff... You expect to defend yourself with junk?"  
  
Right now would've been a good moment to have listened to Mimiru when she had lectured me about equipment, and that thought didn't exactly help my confidence. Even if I didn't stand a chance, I had to at least try to protect Aura.  
  
As Sora jumped to me, I made a hard swing at his head, aggravating him even more. My physical attacks are nothing compared to Mimiru and Subaru's, and I'd never be able to grab enough time to use any magic, so I could do nothing more than block and hope he gets tired of being whacked on the head. Pretty soon I was getting worn out, which was giving Sora quite the advantage.  
  
"S-Sora, don't do this!" I panted, trying to keep my breath.  
  
"Stay out of my way, kid!" Sora huffed.  
  
Subaru was trying to push herself up the whole fight through, but her character was too weak to do so. "T-Tsukasa..."  
  
Ending the small battle, Sora made a final stab at me... Literally.  
  
"Tsukasa!"  
  
I fell to my knees, grabbing my stomach where all the immense pain was coming from. It was so sudden, and I felt like I couldn't do anything, like the attack paralyzed me. Aura shrieked behind me, now free for the taking. Sora laughed again, stepping over me and towards Aura.  
  
"N-No, don't..." I choked.  
  
"Tsukasa!" Aura cried.  
  
"Damnit..." I cursed. My hat slid off my head from leaning over, ruffling my hair over my eyes. Subaru was still struggling to get back on her feet, but didn't even manage to sit up. "A-Aura..."  
  
"Let go of me!" Aura demanded.  
  
"Shut up, girl." Sora growled. All I heard was a small thump and a little cry, but I knew Sora had knocked her out.  
  
"Hey, you big jerk!" a piercing yell from the trees echoed. Mimiru came though, slicing through bushes and other things, trying to get through quickly. By her posture she wasn't exactly in tip-top shape, but Sora obviously didn't bother with putting her in a crappy condition. Her emerald eyes narrowed as she held out her sword, trying to keep it balanced with just one arm. "Yeah, you. Put her down before I really get angry with you!"  
  
"Too late." And the sounds of someone gating out came and went.  
  
Mimiru clenched her teeth, shaking her fist in anger. After she finished cursing out the un-present Sora, Mimiru dropped her sword and ran towards us, her armor making loud, annoying clanging noises in the process. "Subaru! Tsukasa! What the hell did he do to you?"  
  
By this time, Subaru managed to sit upright. "We weren't strong enough... and now he has her..."  
  
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Whee, yay! End of this chapter. After long anticipation, I finally spilled out something! 'Till next time... 


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